Union Beach Joins Middletown in Supporting Law Enforcement With Blue Light

The Borough of Union Beach is joining Middletown Township in showing their support of all law enforcement personnel by light their town blue between now and January 1st.

MMM has received an advanced copy of the following statement that the Borough will release on Tuesday:

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Middletown Stands With Law Enforcement

Township Committee Calls For Residents to Light Their Homes Blue

In response to the execution style murders of NYPD Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, the Middletown Township Committee has order that Town Hall be lit blue starting tonight through January 1st, 2015.

The Township Committee issued the following statement this morning:

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Monmouth Law Enforcement Agencies Will Raise Distracted Driving Awareness In October

Monmouth County drivers who are texting or talking on their phones without a hands free device are more likely than ever to be pulled over in October—and more likely to be given a break for the infraction that carries a fine of $200-$400 for a first offense.  But the break won’t be just a friendly warning from the officer who pulls the driver over.

For the month of October, law enforcement officers across the county will be armed with distracted driver ticket books. Anyone found driving while distracted may be issued a summons warning providing them 15 days to log on the campaign website at unpluggedandalive.com where each ticketholder will be prompted to securely include their pertinent information and to watch a video detailing the horrific effects of distracted driving.

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Murder suspect checked in with law enforcement one week after the double murder

Brian R. Farmer’s mugshot taken August 6, 2014, one week after the murders of Joan Colbert and Veronica Roach, for which he is accused.

The man accused of murdering Joan Colbert and her 10 year old foster daughter, Veronica Roach, in their Long Branch home on July 30, visited the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office one week after the murder occurred, as part of his mandated monitoring as a registered sex offender.

Brian R. Farmer was convicted in 1996 of aggravated assault for engaging in sexual penetration of a 15 year old girl while he was armed with a knife.  Farmer confined the victim and her mother for three days, keeping them tied up.  The victims escaped and Farmer burned down their house, according to the New Jersey State Police Registry of Sex Offenders.

Farmer was arrested early this morning for murders of Colbert and Roach. He was additionally charged with first, second and third degree Endangering  the Welfare of a Child.  Photos of Farmer engaging in a sex act with the 10 year old Roach were found on his phone.

Sex offenders are monitored by the County Prosecutor’s Offices of the county where they reside, according to State Police Information Officer, Trooper Jeff Flynn.  As part of that monitoring, their photos are updated periodically for the Sex Offenders Directory.

Farmer’s most recent mugshot was taken on August 6, 2014, one week after the July 30th murders occurred.

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Crime in Asbury Park, Part 2 ENFORCEMENT

By JOE WOERNER

Enhanced enforcement is the best first step to addressing our crime issue in Asbury Park. With over 80 police officers in a City that is a little larger than one square mile, we should be better able to police our streets.

What has worked in other communities would also make me feel safer in my neighborhood; a clear strategy to deal with gang violence, police walking/biking the beat more often, and stricter code enforcement. As this is essentially police work, the Asbury Police Department must lead this effort. The development of a comprehensive plan should also involve the City Council, community activists, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office, the State Police, and it must be made public.

As gang members commit our most violent crimes, a specific gang intervention component is key. This strategy must focus on putting the hardcore gang leaders in jail and lower level members into intervention programs outside of Asbury Park. A few model programs suggested by community members that have found success in other urban areas include the Highpoint Interventionstrategy, Counterinsurgency Cops that employ a block-by-block approach, Cities United, and Violence Interrupters.

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Christie bridge scandal: Despite U.S. Attorney’s subpoenas, N.J. lawmakers press forward

Christie bridge scandal: Despite U.S. Attorney’s subpoenas, N.J. lawmakers press forward (via NJ.com)

TRENTON — State lawmakers leading the legislative investigation of the George Washington Bridge lane closures today said they plan to proceed with their probes even as the U.S. Attorney is dropping subpoenas in the case. State Assemblyman John Wisniweski…

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Government for the “servants” by the “servants”

Happy Labor Day.

Today we can celebrate that “government of the people, for the people and by the people” has perished from this State.

It has been replaced by government of, for and by the government workers’ unions, bureaucrats protected by civil “service” laws and contracts, and the politicians, protected by gerrymandering and incumbency, who have abdicated the most fundamental functions of government to said unions and bureaucrats. The so called public “servants.”

There have been eight people killed violently in Newark, either by shooting or stabbing, in the last seven days.

If this was a partisan political post, I’d be slamming Newark Mayor Cory Booker for the rise in crime in his city over the last over the last three years.

But that would be disingenuous.  Violent crime in Newark declined from 2006, when Booker was elected mayor through November of 2010 when he laid off the 167 city police officers that had been hired since he became mayor.

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Monmouth SPCA Asks For Public Help In Burnt Dog Investigation

Chief Victor “Buddy” Amato of the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (SPCA) is asking for help from the public in the investigation of a dog suspected of being burnt to death in Eatontown on Tuesday evening.

Eatontown firefighters responded to a report of smoke and possible fire in the wooded area behind the Country Club Apartments off Tinton Ave between 7:00pm and 7:30pm where they found the burning remains of what is believed to be a beagle.

The animal’s remains were taken to the Red Bank Animal Hospital were a necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

Amato asks that anyone with any information about the dog call him at 732-312-7153.

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More Strange Justice: A Warning to Public Servants

By Art Gallagher

Last November I wrote Strange Justice, a piece about my observations of the criminal sentencings of former Brookdale Community Community College President Peter Burnham and former Eatontown Detective Philip Emanulle.

Both men were charged with Official Misconduct. Burnham pled guilty to the Official Misconduct Charge and to Theft.  He charged $24,000 on the college’s credit cards for personal expenses over an eight year period and used a $20,000 federal grant for his son’s tuition at Monmouth University for personal use after Brookdale had already paid the tuition. In addition to Official Misconduct, Emanuelle was charged with Sexual Assault, Criminal Coercion and Tampering with Evidence.  The Sexual Assault and Official Misconduct charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Emanuelle pled guilty to Coercion and Tampering.  Emanulle got five years probation.  Burnham was sentenced to five years in prison with the stipulation that he serve at least two years before he is eligible for release.

Burnham is in State Prison now.  A mutual friend tells me prison has not been easy for Burnham.  That is an understatement.   It hasn’t been easy for his family either.  Burnham had already lost his job and pension.  What was unexpected by his family is that he also lost his Social Security Benefits as a result of his conviction.

On January 8, Marlboro resident Mark Trawinski was sentenced to five months in prison for tax evasion.  Between 2002 and 2008, Trawinski didn’t pay the employment taxes withheld from his employees wages or the business’s employment taxes. He beat the government for $713,759 and used the money in part to purchase a $1 million home in Florida that he tried to hide from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the IRS.   In addition to his five months in prison, after Trawinski is released this spring he will be confined to his home for five months and he will undergo three years of supervised release.  He must also pay back the $713,759 to the IRS.

Why is Burnham doing two years hard time for stealing $44,000 while Emanulle got off with probation for Sexual Assault and and Trawinski got five months  for stealing $713,759?  Official Misconduct.

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Stick and stones may break your bones, but farting can get you shot in the head

A 72 year old Teaneck man was arrested on Monday night after allegedly threatening to shoot his neighbor in the head for farting, according to reports in The Record and The Star Ledger.

Daniel Collins threaten to shoot his 47 year old neighbor, who’s identity is being withheld because there is no evidence of the flatus, after the neighbor cut the cheese while passing Collins’s apartment door.

Collins denied pointing his finger gun at his neighbor and gave the Teaneck Police permission to search his property.  A .32 caliber revolver that matched the description the man gave was found under the front seat of Collins’ car.

Collins was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and terroristic threats.  He was released on his own recognizance.

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