Matawan man in 10-hour standoff allegedly damaged police robot

An armed man who refused police instructions to leave a home provoked a standoff that shut down a Matawan neighborhood for several hours Monday, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. A family member asked police to conduct a welfare check on Michael “Bean” Geran at the Johnson Avenue residence. When officers arrived around… Read the rest of this entry »

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Toni Marie Angelini Resigns From Matawan Council Effective June 30

Matawan Councilwoman Toni Marie Angelini has resigned from the borough’s governing body effective June 30.   Angelini, who declined to seek reelection this year, is moving to Wall Township.

Mayor Paul Buccellato said that Angelini will be missed. “Toni was a valuable member of the council who represented the residents of Matawan with honesty and integrity,” Buccellato said, “She always made decisions with the best interests of the people in mind.”

Angelini has lived in Matawan for 15 years and was elected to the Borough Council twice.  Her move to Wall brings her closer to her family, Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini  and Ocean Township School Board Member Bob Angelini, and gives her a shorter to commute to Trenton where she is the Senior Media Manger for Northeast and Midwest at the National Federation of Independent Businesses. (NFIB).

Toni Marie was formerly the manager of the Hazlet Motor Vehicle Commission facility and worked on Superstorm Sandy recovery in Governor Chris Christie’s office until October of last year.

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Matawan-Aberdeen teacher arrested for talking dirty to students

Philip Riveley

A substitute teacher at Matawan-Aberdeen High School was arrested on Thrusday and charged with engaging in sexually explicit conversations with two female students, ages 15 and 17.

Philip Riveley, 29 of Woodbridge, was charged with two counts of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child. He is being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on $150,000 cash bail.

The arrest is the result off an investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Special Victims Bureau and the Matawan Police Department.  The Woodbridge Police Department assisted in Riveley’s arrest.

If convicted, Riveley faces a prison term of five to 10 years.

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Rubbed the wrong way in Matawan

A two week investigation by the Matawan Police Department resulted in a prostution arrest on Friday afternoon, according the Matawan-Aberdeen Patch.

A Brooklyn woman is facing prostitution charges after she allegedly offered services to an undercover police officer at Hot Stone Massage Therapy in Matawan.

Inga Zubenko, 45, was arrested at about 4 p.m. Friday and charged with prostitution and operating within the borough without a masseuse license, according the Lt. Ben Smith.

The owner of the parlor, Lioudmila Tynanskikh of Manalapan, was issued a summons for operating a parlor in the borough without a license. The license for the parlor at 70 Main Street had expired and was never renewed, Smith explained.

10 members of Matawan’s 20 person police department participated in the investigation. No wonder it took two weeks.

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Breaking: Matawan Police Chief Demoted

By Art Gallagher

The Matwan Mayor and Council demoted Chief James Alston to the rank of Lieutenant at a special meeting this evening.  Alston was also suspended without pay for 10 days.

Lt. Jason Gallo was appointed acting commander of the Matawan Police Department.  Gallo will continue leading the department when Alston returns to duty.

Alston, the first African-American chief in the borough’s history, has had a controversial career in Matawan since he joined the department in 1972.  He sued the borough in the mid 90’s charging retaliation and discrimination after on the part of a former chief and other department personnel after his nephew was denied a position on the force.  That matter was settle for $360,000 in 1996.

Alston sued again in 2000 alleging racially motivated bypass for promotion.  He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2002 and Chief in 2008.  In March of 2010 Alston was under administrative review by the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office.

Stay tuned….

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