Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Jury convicts Michael Durante for writing illegal prescriptions for pain killer.
A Nutley doctor was found guilty Wednesday of writing illegal prescriptions that put an estimated 70,000 oxycodone pills on the street for resale, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Michael Durante, 59, of Montclair, whose internal medicine practice was located in Nutley, faces up to 20 years in prison and $4 million in fines, after a federal jury in New Jersey convicted him of 16 of 17 counts brought against him, one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and 15 counts of unlawful distribution of the drug. Durante, according to evidence presented in court, regularly sold prescriptions of the pain killer oxycodone between 2009 and March 2011 to a group of people who would resell the drugs on the street for a profit. Two men who …
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Michael Fugee, who worked with Nutley Church's youth group, defied court order, Bergen prosecutor says.
Michael Fugee was arrested and charged Monday with multiple counts of contempt of a court order after allegedly violating a 2007 agreement with prosecutors to discontinue work with children following accusations of sexual misconduct. The cleric has been living at St. Antoninus Parish in Newark. Fugee was previously a priest at St. Rose of Lima in Short Hills for three years after being ordained in 1994. Fugee, 52, confessed in 2001 to two acts of sexual misconduct with a Wyckoff teenager during a visit to the teen’s home and again during an overnight church retreat to Virginia. The confession was later recanted and a 2003 conviction was overturned on judicial error in 2007. Prosecutors opted not to retry Fugee, and instead reached an …
Monday, May 20, 2013
Driver found after foot chase hiding under truck in Newark, police said.
Nutley police pursued the driver of a stolen car into Newark where they arrested him after a foot chase through the city, authorities said. On Monday, May 13, Nutley Officers spotted a vehicle speeding on Route 21 South that Passaic Police said was out of Newark. The driver, identified by police as Yusef Gresham, 34, of Hillsdale, reportedly sped up and made reckless maneuvers to elude police when Nutley police flashed their overhead lights. The pursuit continued into Newark where the driver allegedly attempted to elude police by making sharp, fast turns down side streets, according to a police report. Gresham stopped and exited the car near Lexington Avenue in Newark and ran into a backyard, the report stated. Newark police found …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, 34, charged with killing Joseph Galfy of Clark.
Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, dubbed "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker," was arrested Thursday evening at the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Philadelphia by members of the Philadelphia Police Department, Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said. McGillvary has been charged with the murder of Joseph Galfy, Jr., 73, which allegedly occurred in Clark on May 12. McGillvary will be processed in Philadelphia and returned to New Jersey in the coming days. His bail was previously set at $3 million, and he will be lodged in the Union County Jail in Elizabeth, Romankow said. "I am grateful for the overwhelming response and dedicated effort by the public and law enforcement that led to this arrest," Romankow said. "I believe that everyone is a …
Man believed to be involved in robberies in Belleville and Bloomfield.
The Essex County Sheriff's Office posted a $5,000 cash reward on Thursday for information leading to the arrest of two men wanted in connection with eleven armed robberies of convenience stores, liquor stores and gas stations in towns in three North Jersey counties since February 1, said Sheriff Armando Fontoura. One of the men has been identified as having robbed and shot the owner of MS&K Confectionery in Maplewood on April 1, said Fontoura. The man was also recently identified as allegedly robbing a Belleville convenience store on April 14 and being part of a two-man armed robbery at a liquor store in Linden on April 17. In both incidents, the man was carrying a red messenger bag on his shoulder, which contained zipties that he used to …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Nutley couple allegedly stole $150,000 from grandmother's bank account and sold more than $15,000 of her jewelry, Essex County Prosecutor's Office announced.
Millburn's fire inspector and his wife were indicted Wednesday for allegedly taking money from his grandmother's bank account and selling her possessions using power of attorney, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office announced. Peter Dicostanzo, 40, and his wife, Angela Discostanzo, 35, both of Nutley, are accused of withdrawing more than $150,000 from Dicostanzo's grandmother's bank account and selling more than $15,000 of her jewelry, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray said in a release Wednesday. According to the release, Dicostanzo was given power of attorney over his grandmother's finances after his grandfather passed away in 2010. The Nutley couple was indicted by an Essex County Grand Jury on 18 counts of theft, …
Free May program offers information on threat awareness and assessment.
Belleville officials and police are inviting residents to a free three hour emergency training session called "Preparedness: A State of Readiness" at the Belleville High School Auditorium on Wednesday, May 15 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The training session is free and consists of three hours of instructions on threat awareness and assessment, sheltering and evacuation and recovery and resources. This session is open to all Belleville residents and their families, businesses, community organizations, civic groups and anyone else interested. For more information on the program, click here.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The National Transportation Safety Board recommends reducing the limit. Some say it would save lives. Others say it's unreasonable.
One drink could be the standard for drunken driving – at least for some people if the National Transportation Safety Board has its way. On Tuesday, the NTSB recommended states lower the blood-alcohol threshold for driving under the influence from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. What do you think? Is this a reasonable proposal? According to a 2011 Mothers Against Drunk Driving report, the latest available data shows New Jersey ranked 31st out of 51 states (including the District of Columbia) in drunken driving injuries and deaths. That year, there were 193 DUI fatalities, MADD said. About 10,000 deaths nationwide a year are related to drunken driving. The NTSB says the lower limit would save 500 to 800 lives a year. Officials at the American …
Employee of Jersey City Daycare center has been arrested multiple times on charges including endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse.
A Belleville woman who worked at a Jersey City daycare center is being held in Hudson County jail on multiple charges stemming from accusations that she slapped and mistreated children. The Jersey Journal reported that 29-year-old Belleville resident Young Cha was arrested for the second time in connection with allegations of abuse at Sunnyside Academy child care center in Jersey City's Port Liberte. Cha, a teacher's aide, is being held on $50,000 bail. Cha is accused of "slapping, yanking, pushing or dragging" children aged 17 months and two years old. She was previously accused of endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse involving a 17-month-old, the Jersey Journal reported. The original charges claim she slapped the child. …
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Man reportedly called officers racial slurs while in custody.
A resident charged with assault reportedly smashed a Nutley police cruiser’s window Saturday. Steven Scharton, 31, of Nutley was charged with aggravated assault and criminal mischief after police responded to an injured man on Franklin Avenue shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday, police said. The victim was spitting up blood, missing a tooth and couldn't recall what happened to him, police said. Witnesses in the area told police that the victim, who was transported to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, had been beaten by two men who fled on foot. Police said men matching the description of the two assailants were found nearby and taken into custody. One of the men, Scharton reportedly used profanities and racial epithets …
CJandMMom
9:51 am on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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