Prosecutor: 'Justice was served,' in Murder Trail of Raheem Cleveland

By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times

RAHEEM CLEVELAND

Newark prosecutors celebrated a victory following the conviction of Raheem Cleveland in the 2011 gang-related shooting that left a woman seriously injured and her boyfriend dead.

Cleveland's three-day trial culminated with the Essex County jury convicting him of murder, attempted murder and related weapons offenses after a day and a half of deliberation, said Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray.

Celebs Born or Living in New Jersey

SOURCE

Celebs Who Live in New Jersey
· Danny Aiello (b. New York City, New York), lives in Saddle River
· Alan Alda (b. New York City, New York), lives in Leonia
· Muhammad Ali (b. Louisville, Kentucky), lives in Cherry Hill
· Paul Anka (b. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), lives in Tenafly
· AZ (b. New York City, New York), lives in Englewood
· Brian Baldinger (b. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), lives in Cherry Hill
· Jesse Barfield (b. Joliet, Illinois), lives in Tenafly
· Yogi Berra (b. St. Louis, Missouri) lives in Montclair
· George Benson (b. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), lives in Englewood
· Mary J. Blige (b. New York City, New York), lives in Cresskill
· Andre Braugher (b. Chicago, Illinois), lives in South Orange, NJ.
· Vince Carter (b. Daytona Beach, Florida), lives in Saddle River
· Connie Chung (b. Washington, D.C.), lives in Middletown
· Sean Combs ("Diddy") (b. New York City, New York), lives in Alpine
· Damon Dash (b. New York City, New York), lives in Alpine
· Jay-Z (b. New York City, New York), lives in Alpine
· Jevon Kearse (b. Fort Myers, Florida), lives in Moorestown
· Jason Kidd (b. San Francisco, California), lives in Saddle River
· Lil' Kim (b. New York City, New York), lives in Alpine
· Mario (b. Baltimore, Maryland), lives in Teaneck
· Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels (b. New York City, New York), lives in Wayne
· Donovan McNabb (b. Chicago, Illinois), lives in Moorestown
· Eddie Murphy (b. New York City, New York), lives in Englewood
· Randal Pinkett (b. Philadelphia, PA), lives in Somerset
· Maury Povich (b. Washington, D.C.), lives in Middletown
· Aidan Quinn (b. Rockford, Illinois), lives in Englewood
· Geraldo Rivera (b. New York City, New York), lives in Middletown
· Chris Rock (b. Andrews, South Carolina), lives in Alpine
· Ja Rule (b. New York City, New York), lives in Saddle River
· Gary Sheffield (b. Tampa, Florida), lives in Alpine
· Lito Sheppard (b. Jacksonville, Florida), lives in Moorestown
· Brooke Shields (b. New York City, New York), lives in Englewood
· Joseph Simmons (b. New York City, New York), lives in Saddle River
· Kimora Lee Simmons (b. St. Louis, Missouri), lives in Saddle River
· Russell Simmons (b. New York City, New York), lives in Saddle River
· Wesley Snipes (b. Orlando, Florida), lives in Alpine
· Paul Sorvino (b. New York City, New York), lives in Tenafly
· James "J.T." Taylor (b. Laurens, South Carolina), lives in Franklin Lakes
· Dave Winfield (b. Saint Paul, Minnesota), lives in Teaneck
· Stevie Wonder (b. Saginaw, Michigan), lives in Alpine


Celebrities Who Were Born in New Jersey

* John Amos (born 1939), actor (Newark)
* Roscoe Lee Browne (1925–2007), actor (Woodbury)
* Sam Coppola (born 1935), actor (Jersey City)
* Danny DeVito [2](born 1944), actor (Neptune City)
* Ernest Dickerson (born 1951), film and television director (Newark)
* Gloria Gaynor (born 1949), singer (Newark)
* Lauryn Hill (born 1975), singer/rapper/songwriter (South Orange)
* Cissy Houston (born 1933), singer (Newark)
* Whitney Houston (born 1963), singer/actress (Newark, grew up in East Orange)
* Derek Jeter (born 1974) baseball player (Pequannock, New Jersey)
* Queen Latifah (born 1970), singer/actress/rapper (Newark)
* Jerry Lewis (born 1926), actor/comedian/director (Newark)
* Ray Liotta (born 1955), actor (born in Newark, raised in Union Township)
* Shaquille O'Neal (born 1972), professional basketball player (Newark)
*
* Joe Pesci (born 1943), actor (Newark)
* Keshia Knight Pulliam (born 1979), actress (Newark)
* Kelly Ripa (born 1970), actress/television host (Stratford)
* Dennis Rodman (born 1961), former professional basketball player (Trenton)
* Richie Sambora (born 1959), guitarist for rock band Bon Jovi (Perth Amboy)
* Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. (born 1934) U.S. General (Trenton)
* Frank Sinatra (1915–1998), singer/Academy Award-winning actor (Hoboken)
* Soraya (born 1969), Colombian-American singer–songwriter (Point Pleasant)
* Bruce Springsteen (born 1949), singer/songwriter (Freehold)
* Martha Stewart (born 1941) lifestyle guide, entrepreneur (b. Jersey City, grew up in Nutley)
* Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946), photographer (Hoboken)
* Meryl Streep[5] (born 1949), Academy Award-winning actress (Summit)
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* John Travolta (born 1954), actor (Englewood)
* Frankie Valli (born 1937), singer (Newark)
* Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990), singer (Newark)
* Malcolm Jamal Warner (born 1970), actor (Jersey City)
* Vernee Watson-Johnson (born 1954), actress (Trenton)
* David West (born 1980), power forward for the New Orleans Hornets (Teaneck)
* Stylez G. White (born 1979), defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Newark)
* Wendy Williams, radio/television host (born in Asbury Park, grew up in Ocean Township)

New Jersey’s Prodigal Son:Finally Our 15 Minutes Of Fame by: Krusher Kronkite

New Jersey runs through me as the blood beneath my veins. My love affair with the Garden State is as pure as the driven snow that falls upon the crack riddled streets as the world is suddenly infatuated with a place I call  home. It is safe to say I'm biased when it  comes to my state's influence on the modern world and for better or worse we are fucking rebels and we will fight for what is ours and then yours. I find it quite odd that the media has suddenly transformed Jersey into a mill of reality shows that portrays us in all of our audacious glory but I beg to differ. You see I come from a place that created one of the biggest influences in the history of music with Plainfield "P-Funk" New Jersey being the birthplace of  George Clinton's Parliament Funkadelic, DJ Cheese who was one of the first DMC mixing championship DJ's that toured with Run-DMC, and Jam Master Jay discovering home grown rap group Fam-Lee after watching them perform on the Apollo stage.

New Jersey has always been slept on because of its close proximity to New York and fortunately we march to the beat of a different drum including a multitude of singers, musicians,dj's and mc's.  The opening credits for "The Sopranos" continues to send chills down my spine as the camera travels down the New Jersey Turnpike bringing back the fond complexities of my youth and the virility of my naivety. When the towers fell, New Jersey witnessed its destruction as The Statue Of Liberty(actually located in Liberty Park, Jersey City) torch firmly stood through the plumes of smoke that polluted the sky on our side of the Hudson River with nearly a quarter of the victims of the attack were New Jersey residents.



The Garden State happens to be the mecca of the most diners, malls, largest seaport, and has the most expensive car insurance rates  in the country to say the least. Millions make pilgrimages as Trump makes millions in Atlantic City with the hopes of striking it rich, while others take advantage of us not charging sales tax on gas, clothes, and medicine. Not to mention allowing the New York Giants and Jets to play football in our own backyard and sadly watching our beloved Nets travel to Brooklyn without a championship ring, "thanks alot" Jay-Z. It would be an insult not mention the contributors that paved the way for multitudes to eat off of our grind and despite what you think about the city of  Newark being the former car theft capital we have a Black Mayor(Cory Booker) and a former gay one (Jim McGreevey, Whitney Houston, Redman, Queen Latifah,Naughty By Nature, Das-EFX, Bruce Springsteen, Lords of The Underground, Frank Sinatra, and one of Hip-Hop's first successful  rap labels (Sugar Hill Records) and rap song (Rappers Delight)  and who can forget about our Hockey Team (NJ Devils) that copped a few of those Stanley Cups?

Plainfiled New Jersey resident and famous author J.M. Benjamin

When Martin was assassinated we rioted with the rest of the country and regretfully harbored the co-conspirators in the murder of Malcolm X from Newark's Temple Number 25. "Divineland" Trenton, New Jerusalem gave birth to the gods Poor Righteous Teachers during an era Tisha Campbell, Westfield's Malinda Williams, Scotch Plains Star of Star & Buckwild,  local heros Harold Knight that trained former Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis and former dealer and convict J.M. "Squirm" Benjamin turned  author is a man I personally grew up around. Doesn't every city has its secrets and infidelities? Since the beginning of time  ancient cities such as Sodom and Gommorah are the modern and hedonistic cities of San Francisco and New Orleans. Jersey has always been a place that produced a bountiful harvest of talent including Malcom Jamal Warner, Keshia "Rudy" Knight Pulliam, Hollywood's Jack Nicholson, and  John Travolta.

We were right triaterally alongside New York and Connecticut experiencing the birth of Hip-Hop and becoming the oasis of leisure for many rappers of today and yesterday (Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Biggie, and Fat Joe) occupying our zip and area codes. Do you remember Plainfield's Total and racially charged 1967 riots that left a police officer beaten and brutally shot and killed him with his own gun? As a teenager I remember Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, and De La Soul performing at the Strand Theater and talking to former Net and local business owner Jayson Williams and former Chicago Bulls star Jason "Jay" Williams chillin in the 908.  Back in the day radio personality Ed Lover  and Missy Eliot frequented the Queen City while Jersey City's Peter Bond and Elizabeth's Bilal Pretlow hustled keys of coke on Jersey Streets.

Over the years i have lived abroad and it could be 3,000 miles away and I can still spot a car with a New Jersey license plate and run into old friends and former classmates that reunite on facebook and relocated to the ATL. New Jersey later developed a cult following for "Baltimore Club Music" and is the home to the notorious Central American MS-13, La  Cosa Nostra, and Bronx influenced( "Pistol Pete's") Sex, Money, Murder Gang in Trenton. The Garden State is the home of the coolest Italians and have the hottest strip clubs. Jersey girl Wendy Williams managed to claw her way to the top and shout out her state between every soundbyte. Isn't it exciting to see everybody hating on Joe Budden every time he bags a new Latina hottie and about to sign that deal with Slaghterhouse and Eminem?  How about getting that summer job at Six Flags Great Adventure where fellow Jerseyans Bon Jovi and Kool & The Gang performed on stage?


The Fugees made us proud while we rooted for the Outsidaz, Channel Live, and Artifacts to succeed just as well. Lady Luck got screwed by Def Jam while Serious Jones and Sam Scarfo is struggling to compete  in the world of Hip-Hop. Didn't we love Rah Digga as an actress in the horror movie 13 Ghosts? Shit I've done passed my limit on this subject but I just had to let you know that Dr. Dre and the entire West Coast have to give credit where credit is due when it comes to our claim to Funk origins. Shout out to the late Flip Wilson, Slang Ton,Apache, Garry "Diaperman" Shider, Pac recruiting several Outlawz, Paterson hip-hop producer Just Blaze and New Jersey having the right to claim Eddie Murphy, Martha Stewart, Denzel Washington, Danny Devito, Joe Pesci, and Steve Forbes to our illustrious list of citiziens so I think you better recognize the place that bordered North Africa 180 million years ago and originally settled by Native Americans and has the largest petroleum containment outside the Middle East, the most toxic dumps and the highest population density in the U.S. ultimately being from a state I am proud to call my home and able to ride the NJ Transit train and legally drink a beer on board and soon be able to visit my local marijuana dispensary to receive medication for my post traumatic stress disorder from living on these tough Jersey streets.
Krusher Kronkite
Jersey's Finest

Historic Middlesex County Drug Bust Leads to Several Arrests

by Alicia Cruz

The Black Urban Times

Bayonne has nothing on Middlesex County, New Jersey when it comes to marijuana cultivation. New Jersey lawmen say they uncovered the largest and by far, the savviest, marijuana cultivation operation in the history of New Jersey and they have police officer Thomas Lucasiewicz to thank for it.

{See Bayonne Drug Bust Below}

It was a regular day on the beat for officer Lucasiewicz. Well, that's how it started. As the officer strolled along his beat, he caught a whiff of burning marijuana in the air. The mighty aura was too strong for the officer to think it was just a couple of kids blowing a marijuana joint.

So he followed his nose... all the way to a home in an affluent Middlesex neighborhood where he noticed a thick stream of smoke spewing from the chimney of a single-story ranch style home.
Little did he know that his schnoz had just led him to uncover a rather large and sophisticated cannabis operation. The largest in the history of the State of New Jersey.

After Officer Lucasiewicz's backup arrived, he knocked on the door and found Thu Nguyen, 44, home.

Turns out, Nguyen was doing some heavy weeding.
He was burning the unusable parts of the cannabis plants by burning them in the homes fireplace. He never thought it would bring the law to his door.

Nguyen was placed under arrest and the officers began their search. After they realized the magnitude of their find, they called in the New Jersey State Police.


The search of Nguyen's home netted police 1,064 plants which had been growing under artificial lights in areas that were set up in the basement, a bedroom and the master bedroom. Officers also uncovered 50 pounds of packaged marijuana in the homes garage.

That search led to the raid of six additional homes - all rented - in Old Bridge, Manahawkin, Millstone Township and Manalapan where police found a multitude of indoor cultivation equipment. Police seized $65,000 in cash from four of the homes; 3,370 plants and 115 pounds of harvested marijuana.

Nguyen, a Canadian citizen, is being held at the Middlesex County jail in lieu of a $1 Million bond.

In all, six people have been arrested thus far, but police say more arrests are pending.


Those arrested during the raid were all of Vietnamese descent, but it is not known whether they were related. They have been charged with theft of services for bypassing utility meters and maintaining a marijuana-growing facility. Three people are at large and police believe they may have left the country.

Tuan A. Dang, 35, of Port Monmouth and Ngoc H. Bui, 35, a naturalized U.S. citizens were both arrested February 18 at the Millstone Township raid and were also charged with maintaining a marijuana-growing facility and other crimes. Both remain incarcerated at the Monmouth County jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.

Sgt. Steve Jones, a New Jersey state police spokesman, said "They (the homes) each had been turned into pot factories."

"These were not run-down houses," said Jones . "These were high-end homes in affluent neighborhoods. Several of them were worth in excess of $1 million and rented for $4,000 a month."

State Attorney General Paula Dow said, "While law enforcement in New Jersey has encountered high-tech indoor marijuana growing operations in the past, we have not seen anything to match the volume of production of this criminal enterprise."

Sgt. Jones said illicit growers usually don't operate out of their own homes because they know that if they are caught, and own the home where the drugs are found, the home is then subject to forfeiture by the Government.

The pot growers had even remodeled portions of the homes in order to accommodate vents and duct work they had installed in order to better harvest their cannabis. There were 16-inch holes cut into the floors and ceilings.

BAYONNE DRUG BUST IN JANUARY
In another historic pot-bust, Bayonne police on routine patrol in Constable Hook seized a monstrous load of marijuana in January.

Two police officers noticed a suspicious minivan with it's rear doors ajar and backed up to a tractor trailer with out-of-state license plates. Known to be an area privy to vehicle break-ins, the officers decided to investigate.

As they approached the truck parked at 65 New Hook Road, several people ran. Police then heard what sounded like drilling coming from inside the truck. When they looked inside, they found a man cloaked in a miner's helmet with a lamp holding what appeared to be marijuana in cellophane wrapping.

Gordon Peters,42

Gordon Peters refused to exit the trailer and threw the package to the ground. Police searched the rest of the truck they found $3,000 in cash and later found another man, Jason Peters, age 21, who was hiding in the truck's cab.

As the police searched the tractor trailer, they noticed a large wooden crate with several bundles of marijuana inside.

The tractor trailer held (31 bundles) 595 pounds of marijuana. It's street value was estimated at $2 Million.

Jason Peters, 21
Gordon Peters, 42, of Miramar, Florida was arrested along with his son, Jason Peters of Miami, Florida. They were charged with possessing over 25 pounds of marijuana within 500 feet of a public walkway. Bayonne Municipal Judge Cheryl Scott Cashman set bail for the father/son duo at $250,000 for each.

The historic bust was credited to officers Samuel Garcia and Domenico Colabraro.


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Newark Pastor Admits to Bilking Parishioners of $160K

By David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger

After bilking Newark parishioners out of nearly $160,000, disgraced Pentecostal bishop Steven Parrott pleaded guilty to misconduct by a corporate official, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced Friday.

"In pleading guilty, Parrott admitted that he stole $157,580 from five victims named in the indictment," according to a statement released by the AG’s office. "Under the plea agreement, Parrott must pay full restitution to the victims, and the state will recommend that he be sentenced to three years in state prison."

In 2005, Parrott, former pastor of the Lighthouse Temple on Market Street, borrowed money from parishioners, saying he was about to receive a major grant from the government and would pay back the loans with interest. Depending on the victim, Parrott at turns said the money was going to a fictitious after-school program, necessary church repairs, or burying a family member.

According to Cynthia Fleming, Parrot’s lifelong friend and principal victim, the guilty plea helps ease the pain of the swindle, but after four years she said she is still suffering. Because of poor treatment by church officers in the intervening years, Fleming said she is suing the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith -- the umbrella church under which Parrott served.

"I was unable to buy a house, and because of what he’s done to me I have so much debt," Fleming said today. "Even to the point where me and my grandkids were homeless."

After her son, James Jenkins, a decorated Iraq war veteran, killed himself in 2005, Fleming was awarded a sizeable death benefit. Throughout her battle with insurance agencies, Fleming said Parrott was a constant source of support. When the settlement was awarded, Parrott called the grieving mother and said God wanted him to borrow $25,000.

Star-Ledger 2000 file photo of Rev. Steven Parrott at the Lighthouse Temple Church in Newark.

"The Lord told me to ask," Fleming recalled Parrott saying at the time. "It’s for my church."

Parrott invoked God several more times before claiming a total of $75,000 from Fleming, who today said she never imagined he was capable of such treachery.

"Ever since we were children, I never knew anything bad about him," Fleming said. "He was always a very gentle person and I had great respect for him and that’s why it’s so devastating."

Worse, said Fleming, the Church of Our Lord has washed its hands of Fleming and her family and has offered no assistance since the theft.

"Bishop Rubin was nothing but nasty," Fleming said of Rev. Fred Rubin, a church leader. "I told him I was being evicted and he said ‘I’ll pray for you.’"

Bishop Rubin declined to comment for this story.

According to Fleming, the checks she wrote to Parrott had a stamped endorsement from the "Metropolitan Diocese," which she said makes the church liable for monetary damages. She says the church’s refusal to offer any kind of assistance exacerbated her suffering, already profound from the loss of her son, and the betrayal of her pastor.

"I endured such a hardship and no one would reach out and help me," Fleming said. "It was like I never existed."

Fleming is currently living in Burlington County with her daughter and grandchildren because she cannot afford her own home. While the attorney general says Parrott will be responsible for paying back all of the victims, he declared bankruptcy in 2005 and has not worked as a pastor since 2007, when the church barred him from performing services. Despite her ordeal, Fleming is not without mercy.

"God forgives," Fleming said today. "And I have to forgive him as well."

New Jersey in The News

Gang Member Pleads Guilty in Death of Teen

FRANKLIN -- A Somerset County teenager today pleaded guilty to beating a Franklin Township resident before the young man was fatally shot in 2007.
Michael Covil was 16 when he played a role in the attack on 18-year-old Ammar Simmons on July 15, 2007, after Simmons falsely claimed to be a member of the Bloods street gang. Covil, a Franklin resident, was slated to be tried this fall as an adult for second-degree aggravated assault and third-degree terroristic threats.

Hockett Jury Dismissed, Mistrial Declared

by Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

After a week of jury deliberation a judge has declared a mistrial and dismissed the jury in the murder trial of Kason Hockett, of Bartholdi Avenue, in Jersey City, because one of the jurors appeared to be having emotional problems, officials said.
Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Davis Elson, who is prosecuting the case, said a juror had to be excused and although there was an alternate, after a certain length of deliberation it is is no longer appropriate to send in an alternate.
"She was clearly upset when she arrived today and based on her emotional state through the morning, she was excused," Davis Elson said of the juror who was excused. "She was having issues."
Hockett is charged with fatally stabbing Jason Sharpe, 24, of Wilkinson Avenue, on May 13, 2008, at 7 a.m. at Ocean Avenue and Wegman Parkway, officials said. Superior Court Judge Michael L. Raven declared the mistrial before 1 p.m. today.
After Hockett and Sharpe argued on the street, Hockett walked away but came back minutes later and stabbed Sharpe once in the chest, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said at the time.
Sharpe was pronounced dead about an hour later at the Jersey City Medical Center. Hockett surrendered on the murder charge three weeks after Sharpe died.
A pretrial hearing hearing has been set for Sept. 14, where a new trial date will be discussed.

U.S. Transporation Secretary gives $300M check to N.J.
by Ryan Hutchins/For The Star-Ledger
EDISON -- In more than one way, it was a huge check that U.S. Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood signed today at the Metropark train station in Edison.
At several feet wide, the check was big in the literal sense. So big, actually, that the cabinet member looked a bit odd as he endorsed it as political figures and transit workers in bright-neon vests and hard hats watched -- a long line of TV cameras, still photographers and recorder-wielding reporters in the background.

Mom Uses Her 'Apple Mortgage Cakes' To Save Home

By Alicia Cruz

Senior writer

theblackurbantimes

My fifth grade teacher, Sister Mary Jo always told me that "God helps those who help themselves." Well, one woman in New Jersey seems to be living and breathing that very saying.
A Teaneck, New Jersey woman put her "Betty Crocker" skills to work in order to save her home. Angela Logan, a divorced mother of three sons, had to raise $2,559.54 by July 26 in order to pay her lender and try to save her home.
A federal program introduced by the Obama administration assists homeowners in financial trouble by reducing their mortgage payments.
A home renovation scam contributed to Logan's money woes placing her in danger of losing the one place she has lived for almost twenty years. But thanks to Logan's signature apple cakes, she just might be able to save her home. Within a week of cooking up the idea, she received 42 order for what she calls her "mortgage apple cakes" at $40 a piece. If you would like to help Ms. Logan and her sons save their home, order a cake, call (201) 921-3833 or visit her web site here.

VIDEO

DJ "Tony D" Passed Away in New Jersey

By SULAIMAN ABDUR-RAHMAN

HAMILTON — Trenton lost a music legend over the weekend when hip-hop producer and DJ “Tony D” died in a one-car crash on Bunting Avenue near his township home.

Anthony “Tony D” DePula, 42, is credited with putting Trenton’s hip-hop scene on the map in 1990 by producing Poor Righteous Teachers’ “Rock Dis Funky Joint.” The music video to that classic single was filmed on the “Trenton Makes” bridge.Tony D collaborated with hip-hop artists such as Method Man, Redman and the group Cypress Hill.

He made appearances on “Yo! MTV Raps” with Doctor Dré and Ed Lover and had business contacts with the likes of LL Cool J, Will Smith and Russell Simmons.Tony D also wrote the score for the 2001 film “Snipes,” a movie about an up-and-coming Philadelphia rapper starring St. Louis rapper Nelly and featuring Sam Jones III and Frank Vincent of “Goodfellas” fame.Tony D also had his own record label, Cha-Ching Records, which was based out of his township home.The Trentonian in 2003 wrote a front-page news story on Tony D in the Sunday, Aug. 10, edition. The article chronicled Tony D’s rise to fame.

Tony D was born and raised in the Trenton area, graduating from Ewing High and residing in Hamilton since 2002.The hip-hop producer was at his Bunting Avenue home with his wife and two young daughters about 6 p.m. Saturday when he “received a phone call from someone who was interested in purchasing his music,” according to his spouse, Marcy DePula.Tony D burned a CD and told his wife, who was cooking dinner for the family, “I’ll be back in 10 minutes.”

But when Tony D was on his way back home, he lost control of his 2002 Suzuki XL wagon about 6:20 p.m. and struck the fence of the St. John’s Cemetery on Bunting Avenue near Lalor Street, according to Hamilton police.The impact flipped Tony D’s vehicle onto its passenger side, police said, and he was found unconscious at the scene with a severe neck injury.At the time, Marcy DePula was growing worried because her husband hadn’t returned, so she kept calling his cell phone. “There was no answer,” Marcy DePula said. She heard emergency sirens and then a “neighbor came and said Tony was on the ground.”Medics rushed Tony D to Capital Health’s Fuld Campus hospital in Trenton. His family members hurried to the hospital and learned the longtime hip-hop producer was pronounced dead.

“Music was my husband’s true passion,” a grieving Marcy DePula told The Trentonian yesterday as she sorted through her hubby’s long catalog of CD and 12-inch vinyl productions. “He was a devoted family man.

He kind of put his passion on the backburner for his family.”In addition to his wife, Tony D is survived by his daughters Sophia, 3, and Olivia, who turns 15 months old tomorrow.“Sophia is the spitting image of her father,” Marcy DePula said yesterday as Sophia ran around the family house blowing bubbles. “His kids were everything to him.

They are definitely daddy’s girls.”The kids yesterday didn’t know that daddy was gone, but Marcy DePula said she tried to “nonchalantly” break the news to Sophia. Lots of friends, relatives and neighbors visited Tony D’s Bunting Avenue home yesterday to send their condolences.Joanne DePula, 45, Tony D’s older sister, last night was sorting through a picture book of the Trenton-area hip-hop mogul. There were pictures of Tony D with Pink, Ice Cube and even one of him tagging along with a young Eminem.

“He accomplished a lot,” Joanne DePula said. “He was very, very talented. When he was a little boy, he had a toy chest; he would get on the toy chest and sing on the microphone in his pampers. Music was in him at a very young age.”

“He started the hip-hop/rap movement in Trenton in the 1980s,” said Tony D’s other sibling, William Depula, 51. In addition to music, “Tony loved basketball, football and riding dirt bikes. He was a really good family man who loved the girls. That was his No. 1 in life.”

“Tony was the kind of person who would give the shirt off his back,” said Tom “Rocky” Silvestro, Tony D’s father-in-law. “He was a good husband to my daughter and a great father to his kids. As a father-in-law, I couldn’t want better.”

“Tony did a lot for a lot of people,” said neighbor Garrett Hoffman. “He was a very good guy.”Rob “Kaaos” Kroslin, an emcee who was a member with Tony D in local hip-hop group “The WBs” (White Boys), said, “Tony D was a massive inspiration for me. To work with him was amazing because he was a little ahead of our time, and he laid down the path for us.”The other member of The WBs is Trenton lyricist Shawn Lov, who on his MySpace Web profile wrote, “R.I.P. Tony D, we will NEVER forget you.”

Tony D’s MySpace page last night had multiple “Rest in Peace” comments.Tony D was influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, he was a fan of the punk band Sublime and he drew inspiration from old rock and jazz, according to his buddy Kaaos.

Known widely as Tony D, Trenton’s late hip-hop legend at times referred to himself as Harvee Wallbangar. Hours before his fatal accident, Tony D and his wife took the kids to Babies “R” Us for professional pictures.The family man had tentative plans to take his children to see the Easter Bunny sometime during Holy Week.

“I will always love him — he will always be in my heart,” Marcy DePula said of her husband. “And every day he will live on through his children.”

Read the story at The Trentonian

14-Year-Old New Jersey Girl May Get Sex Offender Status

Teen posts 30 Nude Photos On MySpace Of Herself
TRENTON- (AP) A 14-year-old New Jersey girl has been accused of child pornography after posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures of herself on MySpace.com — charges that could force her to register as a sex offender if convicted.
The case comes as prosecutors nationwide pursue child pornography cases resulting from kids sending nude photos to one another over cell phones and e-mail. Legal experts, though, could not recall another case of a child porn charge resulting from a teen’s posting to a social networking site.
MySpace would not comment on the New Jersey investigation, but the company has a team that reviews its network for inappropriate images. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped off a state task force, which alerted the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office.
The office investigated and discovered the Clifton resident had posted the “very explicit” photos of herself, sheriff’s spokesman Bill Maer said Thursday.
“We consider this case a wake-up call to parents,” Maer said. The girl posted the photos because “she wanted her boyfriend to see them,” he said.
Investigators are looking at individuals who “knowingly” committed a crime, he said, declining to comment further because the case is still being investigated.
The teen, whose name has not been released because of her age, was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. She was released to her mother’s custody.
If convicted of the distribution charge, she would be forced to register with the state as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, said state Attorney General Anne Milgram. She also could face up to 17 years in jail, though such a stiff sentence is unlikely.
Some observers - including the New Jersey mother behind the creation of Megan’s Law — are criticizing the trend of prosecuting teens who send racy text messages or post illicit photos of themselves.

Maureen Kanka - whose daughter, Megan, became the law’s namesake after she was raped and killed at age 7 in 1994 by a twice-convicted sex offender - blasted authorities for charging the 14-year-old girl.
The teen needs help, not legal trouble, she said.
“This shouldn’t fall under Megan’s Law in any way, shape or form. She should have an intervention and counseling, because the only person she exploited was herself.”
Called “sexting” when it’s done by cell phone, teenagers’ habit of sending sexually suggestive photos of themselves and others to one another is a nationwide problem that has confounded parents, school administrators and law enforcers.
Prosecutors in states including Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin have tried stop it by charging teens who send and receive the pictures.
In northeastern Pennsylvania, a prosecutor recently threatened to file child porn charges against three teenage girls who authorities say took racy cell-phone pictures that ended up on classmates’ cell phones.
The MySpace case may be a first, though.
“I’m not sure I’ve seen a prosecution like this coming out of a social networking site,” said Seth Kreimer, a constitutional law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Milgram, the attorney general, could not recall another such case in New Jersey. She cautioned parents to get on those sites and monitor what their kids are talking about and posting.
“Unfortunately, youth don’t have the same judgment as adults,” she said, “and often, adults don’t have the same technical savvy as the youth.”

'Bonnie & Clyde' Duo Robbed To feed Drug Habit

Cops: 'Bonnie & Clyde' Robbers Had $1K a Day Drug Habit

CLIFTON, N.J. (AP) -- Police say a couple suspected in what are known as the "Bonnie & Clyde'' robberies in north Jersey needed money to fuel a $1,000-a-day heroin habit. Maria Cruz and Leone Rene are suspected of robbing nearly ten stores in Passaic and Bergen counties in the past month. They're charged with two counts of robbery and one count of weapons possession.
During one robbery at Kathy's Grocery on Ackerman Ave. in Clifton, the pair pistol-whipped a store clerk, police said.
Levin and Cruz were arrested Sunday driving an SUV, and had in their possession a handgun, ski masks, and stolen lottery tickets, police said.The pair confessed to robbing two bodegas in Clifton, two in Paterson, one in Woodland Park and two more in Garfield, police said. Charges are pending in the other towns. Their arrests came after a Clifton police officer on his way to work followed a vehicle matching the description of one wanted in earlier robberies.

Two Dead, Four Missing as Fishing Boat Sinks Off N.J.

Photos courtesy of Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - A fishing boat sank in rough seas off New Jersey on Tuesday morning, killing at least two people and leaving four missing in the icy ocean as relatives gathered at the water's edge to pray for their safe return.
One crew member was already dead and a second was critically ill when rescuers arrived where the Lady Mary—a 71-foot scallop boat based at Cape May in southern New Jersey and owned by a North Carolina man—sank with seven people aboard about 75 miles off the coast. The second crew member died later Tuesday.

A third crew member was conscious and alert when he was plucked with the other two from the water by a helicopter. Two helicopters, an airplane and two boats swept a 225-square-mile area of the Atlantic Ocean for the remaining people.
All seven crew members were wearing cold-water survival suits, the Coast Guard said, but it was not clear how long they could hold out in the 40-degree water, with the air temperature at 33 degrees.
At the dock where the Lady Mary was based, about two dozen relatives and friends of the fishermen held hands and prayed.
"God, we pray for a miracle," said Marcia Janifer, whose sister is engaged to Roy Smith Jr., one of the men she said was missing Tuesday afternoon. She described Smith Jr. as "shy but funny."
Smith's father, Roy Smith Sr. of Bayboro, N.C., owned the boat, said Clara Burkhardt, office manager of the Cold Springs Fish and Supplies, which bought seafood from the elder Smith. He was on his way from home to Cape May by Tuesday afternoon, she said.
An hour after receiving a transmission at 7:30 a.m. from an emergency radio beacon, a Coast Guard helicopter found three crew members in the water near an empty life raft bobbing in the ocean. They were taken to a hospital, where one was pronounced dead and a second died later, the Coast Guard said.
The third rescued crew member was able to tell authorities that all seven members of the crew donned lifesaving suits "and abandoned ship" for a reason he didn't specify, said Petty Officer Andrew Kendrick.
Waves were 4 to 7 feet high when the boat sank, Kendrick said. Searching for the missing boaters were two helicopters and an airplane from Coast Guard stations in Elizabeth City, N.C., and Atlantic City, as well two boats from Cape May.
Cape May trails only Gloucester, Mass., on the East Coast in terms of tons of fish brought ashore each year, Mayor Edward Mahaney said.
Commercial fishermen all know they could be lost at sea someday, Janifer said.
"It is a known possibility," she said. "They are well aware of the danger you could get in out there."

Related story here

NJ news: Gov. Corzine to give NJ schools help in form of stimulus aid

Dozens of Schools to Benefit From Funds in Corzine Budget
By JOHN MOONEY
Piscataway
nytimes.com
WHEN Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed a new school financing law for New Jersey last year, the school district here was just the kind the new formula was meant to help.

With its high property taxes and relatively low spending for schools, the Middlesex County district, situated on the edge of Rutgers University, won a 20 percent boost in state aid, or about $2.7 million.

“We brought down property taxes, while able to hold down class sizes,” said Robert Copeland, the district’s superintendent. "It stopped us from having to cut programs.”

A year later, all the economic rules have changed, especially after last week, when Mr. Corzine presented his austere $28.9 billion state budget plan for next year. School officials throughout the state have been worried that any gains from last year could prove fleeting in the next.

Over all, Mr. Corzine’s budget will make almost no one happy, especially many homeowners who will not be able to deduct property taxes on state income tax returns for at least a year. But schools have been spared the worst cuts, and indeed dozens of public school districts will benefit from Mr. Corzine’s proposal, including Piscataway.
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Camden, N.J. Count The Homeless

The streets of this city are a place people end up when their lives fall apart. And the people who live there say that in the rough economy, they are finding they have more neighbors.

Homeless people stand outside a van in the rain Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009, in Camden, N.J., as they wait to fill out census forms.

Social service workers and volunteers set out across Camden and the state as part of a homeless count they complete most years. The results of the census, along with those being conducted in all 50 states this week, are forwarded to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2007, the last time every New Jersey county participated in the count, there were more than 17,000 people who met the government's definition of homeless, which doesn't include the nearly homeless, such as those staying temporarily with friends or family.
Nationwide, about 124,000 were counted two years ago. The state report from Wednesday's count will not be compiled for a few months and the federal one is not expected to be done until sometime next year. HUD officials say the tallies are useful for assessing the need for services and are not used to determine how much federal grant money each state or community receives.

After an overnight snowfall, Neil Floyd (left) warms himself near a fire Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009, outside his tent in the small tent city where he lives with other homeless people in Camden, N.J.

For every homeless person counted this week, two to three times as many are homeless at some point during the year, said Alison Recca-Ryan, the director of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, which runs New Jersey's census. She said that there are signs that the state's homeless number will be up from previous years.
This week's count is the first nationwide one since a recession began more than a year ago. New Jersey's census comes as the state government is forming a panel to look at homelessness.
Social service agencies in every county were offering free services from medical checkups to haircuts to try to get people who live on the streets to a place where they could be counted — and where they can get help.
For the harder to reach, teams of workers were searching for those without homes. The stops included Tent City and the Walter Rand Transportation Center, where people lined up to answer survey questions in exchange for a bologna sandwich and candy.
A group from Volunteers of America strolled through Tent City not long after dawn Wednesday as a gentle snow turned into a bone-chilling frozen rain.
Outreach worker Hal Miller led the way through the maze of 15 abodes, which ranged from expensive camping gear to ragged tarps, and called into each in search of residents.
Tent City dwellers said they ended up in the woods because they felt they had no other place to go. They said that, as uncomfortable as it is, it's better than trying to live at a train station or in abandoned homes, which are numerous in a city that constantly ranks as one of the poorest and most crime-ridden in the country.
Twenty-six-year-old Jessica Massa, who is pregnant and has seven children living with family elsewhere, said she came to Camden from suburban Gloucester County a few months ago hoping to stay at a shelter. She said she was turned away because she didn't have a referral from a social service agency in her home county. Now, she uses blankets and Sterno candles to try to stay warm. A social service worker said she would get Massa prenatal care and a place to stay, if she wanted it.
Erwin James, 47, said he has been on the streets off and on since he was released from prison in 2006. He's been rejected by shelters, he said, because he was convicted of dealing drugs.
John Palumbo, a 53-year-old former heating and air conditioning technician from Mount Laurel, said he suffers from manic depression that led him to homelessness.
Floyd, a clean shaven former truck driver and father of three grown daughters who was wearing new-looking jeans, said that he hasn't had regular work since he had a kidney transplant 10 years ago.
In 2006, he said, his wife died. "I just couldn't keep up," he said. "I couldn't pay the bills when she died."
Floyd, who had lived in nearby Paulsboro, said he's been on the street for more than a year but still dreams of having a job and family again.
"I don't plan to stay outside for the rest of my life," he said.

A cut above the rest: Father & son barber team share pride with gossip

BY DORIAN BLOCK

The young, the old, the new immigrant and the Bronx-born-and-raised all have a home at Robert's Barber Shop, where you can still get the traditional "shave and a haircut," — though not for two bits these days.
Influenced by 63-year-old owner Robert Castillo's beginnings as a barber in Honduras, the shop at 5824 Broadway in Kingsbridge offers shaves and cuts mixed with some urban banter.
"We do the whole hot towel with the cream. We have a massage machine that massages your face and head after the shave," said Castillo's son and the shop's co-owner, Dave, 30.
"The community comes here. People from Jersey travel to get their hair cut here."
The shop opened in 1994 when there were no other businesses nearby. Men in the community were drawn to a place that took a little more time to pamper customers.
"There was nothing in the neighborhood when we came here," said the younger Castillo. "Nobody ever gave us a shot of making it here."
Fifteen years later, the store was packed during the holiday week — with men waiting for their $12 shaves or $25-$30 shave-cut treatments.
"I love what I do," said the younger Castillo, known to his clients as "Davey Cuts."
"I've been doing this since I left high school. And for my father this was his dream," he said.

N.J. may consider 'driver privilege cards' for undocumented immigrants

The Associated Press
Trenton, N.J.— A panel advising Governor Jon Corzine on immigrant issues is considering recommending the state allow undocumented immigrants "driver privilege cards" and in-state college tuition rates. Two Hispanic leaders have told the Record of Bergen County that the state's public advocate, Ron Chen, told them the measures would be included in a panel's report to Corzine. But a spokeswoman for Chen told the newspaper that it hasn't been decided what would be included in the report. The "driver privilege cards" and in-state tuition would need legislative approval before becoming law. Groups that support tighter immigration control have said they'd oppose the measures. Corzine assembled a panel on immigrant rights with the idea of passing comprehensive immigration reform.

Former NJ lawmaker popped on Perv Charges

Ex-NJ lawmaker faces child pornography charges

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI Associated Press Writer

TRENTON, N.J. - A former New Jersey lawmaker who had championed bills aimed at fighting child pornography was indicted Wednesday on child porn charges. A grand jury indicted Neil Cohen, 57, on four counts that include possessing, reproducing and distributing the illegal images. He also faces an official misconduct charge. Cohen resigned as state assemblyman in July following allegations that he viewed child porn on his state-issued computer.

Full story:http://www.thehillsider.com/?p=559

Photo courtesy/Hillside

Bunch of NONSENSE...over a few CENTS in the courthouse!

N.J. Man Shocked To Learn Warrant For His Arrest Was Issued After He Tried To Pay $56 Traffic Fine With Coins! WTH?
NUTLEY, N.J. (CBS) ― A Nutley man is putting in his two cents about what he calls a lot of non-cents over a traffic ticket. He has been trying to pay his fine in pennies, but the town is demanding he change his way of paying. "It's very easy to count. It goes in 10s. I mean, there's five rows of 10s," Frank Gilberti said. Gilberti showed 112 rolls of pennies to CBS 2 HD. He said he thought he could use the coins to pay a traffic fine at the Bloomfield Municipal Court. "I went to the bank and got $56 worth of rolled pennies and went down to the court house and they refused to take it. They had told me to bring cash. I was under the assumption this was cash."
http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=121376@wcbs.dayport.com