Rumson Cop Who Beat DWI Charge Is Suing To Get His Job Back

Damien Brennan

Damien Brennan, a former Rumson Police Sergeant, is asking the Monmouth County Superior Court to force the Borough and its Police Department to give him his gun and badge back.

Brennan, 38 of Howell, was terminated on August 11 of this year after an Internal Affairs inquiry into the single-car traffic accident he had on in the early hours of September 20, 2014 when he left the Dublin House in Red Bank to report to his off-duty assignment protecting Bruce Springsteen’s unoccupied Rumson home.   According to reports on RedBankGreen, Brennan crashed his Chevy Camaro into a dumpster behind Fisher Diamonds at the corner of White and Broad Streets.

The Red Bank Police charged Brennan with DWI.   He pleaded guilty to Reckless Driving and received a 60 day drivers license suspension after his attorney, Peter O’Mara, argued that the blood sample evidence taken at Riverview Medical Center after the accident should be ruled inadmissible because the Red Bank Police did not obtain a warrant for the blood, according to RedBankGreen.

In his suit against Rumson, Brennan blamed his car accident on Meniere’s Disease, a disorder of unknown cause that manifests with spontaneous  episodes of vertigo — a sensation of a spinning motion — along with fluctuating hearing loss, ringing in the ear, and sometimes a feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Congressman Smith Announces Grant For Anti-Domestic Violence Program

Congressman Chris Smith announced today that the New Jersey Coalition For Battered Women has been awarded a $82,882 grant by the U.S. Justice Department.

Smith authored the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, the legislation that first authorized the federal program funding this grant.

“The New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women is a valuable resource for women and children across our state who have been victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault and violence,” said Smith. “The NJCBW’s mission is to end violence against women and its work is critical to ensuring women and their families have the resources necessary—and readily available—to break the cycle of domestic violence.”

• Tweet

Police seek public’s assistance in identifying deceased man found in Hudson River

The New Jersey State Police and the Port Authority Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a deceased man who was found in the Hudson River.

The white male was 45-50 years old, 5’5″, 151 lbs with blue/green eyes.  His salt and pepper hair was shaved from his head and he had a scruffy beard.   His upper teeth were missing and he had no scars or tattoos.  He was wearing black Speedo swim shorts, a blue t-shirt and black Nike sneakers when the body was recovered.  A forensic artists rendering is posted to the left.

Anyone with information that can assist in helping to identify this deceased male, please call the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at 609-882-2000 ext. 2857 or Port Authority N.Y. & N.J. Police Department at 212-502-2514.

• Tweet

Hanlon: Voter registration deadline is October 13

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon is reminding county  resident who are not registered to vote that the deadline to do so and vote on November 3 is October 13, 2015, 21 days before the election.

“I urge everyone to exercise their right to vote and register for the fall elections,” said Hanlon.  “Registration is easy and the right to vote is the cornerstone of our nation’s freedom and continued liberties.”

Residents may register at the Monmouth County Voter Registration Office, 300 Halls Mills Rd., Freehold Township, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.  On Tuesday, Oct. 13 the office will remain open until 9 p.m.

You may also register at your Municipal Clerk’s office, call for the hours and the location.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Scharfenberger presentation on Seacaucus Potter’s Field

When the NJ Turnpike Authority set out to build an extension and exits 15E and 16E on the Turnpike in 2001, a long forgotten cemetery of unmarked graves, a “Potter’s Field,” was discovered on the site known throughout the years as “Snake Hill,”Laurel Hill,” and more recently “Graffiti Hill.”   Dr. Gerry Scharfenberger, PhD, was a member of the team of archaeologists that recovered, identified and re-interred the 4571 bodies that were first buried at the site, as well as over 100,000 historical artifacts.

On Tuesday, October 20, Scharfenberger, a Middletown Township Commiteeman,will be making a fascinating presentation about the site which during the late 1800’s to mid 1900’s was the home of a county jail, a “lunatic” asylum and a tuberculosis asylum.

The event,which is free and open to the public, will take place at the Middletown Arts Center, 36 Church Street, at 7:30PM until approximately 8:30 p.m.

• Tweet

Tax Board Rejects Curley’s Call To Suspend Assessment Program

Prosecutor Mum On Whether He Will Investigate Anonymous Allegations

Freeholder John P. Curley

The Monmouth County Board of Taxation voted unanimously on Friday to reject Freeholder John Curley’s call that they suspend their new method of assessing values on properties in the county for property tax purposes.

Curley’s call to suspend the program came last week after he said received an anonymous letter from a group of realtors, appraisers, tax assessors and former tax assessors alleging that the program, “Tax Assessment Demonstration Program,” is not being implemented in accordance with the law that created it and implying that Matthew Clark, the Tax Board Administrator, has inappropriate dealings with the program vendors.

Curley referred the anonymous letter to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni, declaring in his own letter to the prosecutor that it is “omnipotent (sic) that all government business be conducted with full transparency, ethical and legal standards.”   Curley also wrote Tax Board President James Stuart to request the tax assessment program be suspended while Gramiccioni investigates.  He then released the anonymous letter and his letters to Gramiccioni and Stuart to the Asbury Park Press.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Update on deadly car crash on Route 18, Colts Neck

Two people are dead and a third is hospitalized as a result of a commercial line striping truck overturning into the median of Route 18 in Colts Neck this morning, according to Charles Webster, spokesperson for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

The incident occurred north the northbound interchange of Route 34 and the south of the County Road 537 interchange.

The three victims were ejected from the vehicle they were traveling in.  Two were pronounced dead at the scene at 8:30 a.m. and 8:35 a.m. The third victim, a male, was transported to an area hospital.  His condition is unknown.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

N.J. judge: Mother can’t bring medical marijuana to her child at school

TRENTON — The mother of a teenage New Jersey girl with epilepsy cannot come to school to feed her daughter cannabis oil that has helped control her seizures, a state judge ruled Tuesday, saying state and federal drug possession laws trump their right to use medical marijuana on school grounds. This is the third legal defeat… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

FEMA extends deadline for Sandy homeowners

WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed Tuesday to give Hurricane Sandy homeowners an extra 30 days to ask the government to review their damage claims. FEMA agreed to the last-minute extension just hours before the original deadline. The agency initially agreed to review all claims submitted by homeowners in response to allegations that insurers… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Police investigate report of barricaded subject inside Atlantic Highlands condo

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS — Authorities investigated a reported barricaded subject inside a residence on King James Lane Tuesday night, police said. Chief Jerry Vasto said police responded to the residence after receiving a report of a possible barricaded subject with a weapon. Police had the entrance to King James Court condominium complex closed off for several hours… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet