Monmouth County Police Departments have been given grants to target drunk or impaired drivers this holiday season as part of a statewide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” initiative, warned Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni and Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden.
The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” initiative focuses on mobilizing police departments across the state during the holiday season in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk and impaired driving through concentrated enforcement activities. The 2012 holiday season “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” initiative resulted in 1,555 Driving While Intoxicated arrests statewide, with 42 of those arrests taking place in Monmouth County, between December 7, 2012 and January 2, 2013.
“The statistics are sobering enough. The holidays are a time to create lasting memories with your family and friends, not destroy family and friends who will be forced to recall the horrific death of a loved one who wasn’t sober and got behind the wheel of a vehicle,” Gramiccioni said.
“No family should have to face the death of another family member during the holiday season, or any time of the year for that matter. The message is clear: ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’, so the ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ initiative should simply resonate with anyone who operates any motor vehicle this holiday season,” said Golden.
For the cost of a dinner or another round, get a ride home. You might be drunker than you think:
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice will host a joint legal clinic today, 9am – 12:30pm, at the Bayshore Activity Center, (Seabrook-Wilson House), 719 Port Monmouth Road in Port Monmouth.
The Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force is comprised of representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the FBI, IRS, NJ Division of Taxation, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies. Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) provides comprehensive legal services to economically-disadvantaged adults, children, and families in New Jersey through volunteer attorneys recruited and trained by VLJ. Programs include free legal counsel and advice, educational seminars on various legal matters, and direct representation for at-risk individuals facing critical civil legal issues.
Anyone in need of legal assistance due to issues that have arisen as a result of Superstorm Sandy is encourage to attend today’s clinic or to call the Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force at (855) SANDY-39 of VLJ at (855) 301-2525.
Michael Karwan, the missing autistic teenage who was located in Cleveland, Ohio last night, has been reunited with his parents, according to a statement by Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Grammiccioni.
Grammiccioni said that Karwan, 19, was reported missing from his parents’ home on Tuesday, Nov. 19, sparking an intensive search of the region that spread into upstate New York. Over the next week, Karwan traveled by bus from Monmouth County to Manhattan and from New York via Philadelphia and Pittsburgh before arriving in Cleveland, Ohio. Upon his arrival in Cleveland on Saturday, Karwan attempted to check-in to an overcrowded men’s shelter run by Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries (LMM), but was referred to the Volunteers of America (VoA) shelter.
Brian Nogiewich. Photo via Monmouth Co Prosecutors Office
Judge Joseph W. Oxley issued an arrest warrant for Brian Nogiewich, 54, of Toms River, today when Nogiewich failed to surrender to the Monmouth County Super Storm Sandy Fraud Task Force.
Nogiewich is charged with Theft for failing to deliver natural gas powered electrical generators to customers who paid him for them in the wake of Super Storm Sandy, according to a statement from Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
The joint investigation by members of the Monmouth County Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force, including the FBI, revealed that Nogiewich accepted payments from two Monmouth County residents in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, but failed to either deliver the natural gas-powered generators or refund his customers’ money. One victim paid Nogiewich a deposit of just under $3,000, while the second victim paid him more than $4,700 for the power plant. Neither victim has received a generator or a refund.
The investigation further revealed an application by Nogiewich to the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs for a Home Improvement Contractor Registration Number contained false information.
Nogiewich is charged with two counts of third degree Theft by Deception and one count of fourth degree Failure to Register with Division of Consumer Affairs.
Nogiewich has continued to evade authorities since failing to surrender after telling investigators he was in the State of Delaware and would return to New Jersey. Additional information has led investigators to believe he may also be in Upstate New York.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Nogiewich is urged to call Detective Elethia Baldwin, of this Office at 732-431-7160 ext. 6349 or toll-free at 1-800-533-7443.
The Monmouth County Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice will be holding a legal clinic to assist Sandy survivors on Thursday afternoon, September 19, from 2pm -4:30pm at the Bayshore Activity Center, 719 Port Monmouth Ave, Port Monmouth, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Monmouth County Department of Consumer Affairs, FBI, IRS, New Jersey Division of Taxation, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies will be on hand to provide information and assistance to anyone in need.
Attorneys from the Disaster Legal Response Program launched by Volunteer Lawyers for Justice will also be available to consult with people and provide free legal advice. Those requiring further assistance may be referred to volunteer outside counsel (financial eligibility requirements apply).
The hotline for the Monmouth County Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force is (855) SANDY-39. Volunteer Lawyers for Justice may be reached at (855) 301-2525.
A Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force Investigation has resulted in the indictment of a Toms River man by a Monmouth County Grand Jury.
Acting Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni
Shane (aka Shaine) Wood, 48, the principle of Reliable Roofing and Siding, was charged in the four count indictment with providing a fraudulent insurance certificate and working as an unregistered contractor after state authorities revoked his registration, Acting Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced this afternoon.
Wood is charged with fourth degree counts of Forgery, Uttering a Forged Instrument, Failure to Register with the state Division of Consumer Affairs, and Failure to Provide a Written Contract. Fourth degree offenses carry a maximum 18-month prison term, if convicted.
Wood was arrested in July after an investigation by the Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force revealed he sub-contracted with a general contractor to perform roof repair work on a Monmouth Beach property in late-January 2013 as the principal of Reliable Roofing and Siding.
The general contractor required Wood’s Reliable Roofing and Siding to provide a Certificate of Liability Insurance reflecting Wood’s company was covered for New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Insurance. Wood transmitted a document purporting Reliable Roofing and Siding was covered by the John Hill Insurance Company, but later learned Wood supplied a fraudulent document according to the insurance company.
The general contractor contacted the Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force prompting the criminal investigation.
Wood was released after posting $10,000 bail, as set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen.
There were three shootings in Asbury Park this afternoon, according to a report at NJ.com.
The shooting happened around noon on Mattison Avenue, near Langford Street, Detective Lt. David DeSane said. As of around 2 p.m., DeSane said he did not know the extent of the injuries.
Two people in the area, who asked not to be identified, said they heard four or five shots, but did not know what happened.
AsburyParkSun photo
In the triCityNews last week, publisher Dan Jacobson said there have been four fatal shootings in the city, population 16,132, so far this year.
In their award winning series, Gripped by violence, published last October, four days before Superstorm Sandy, the Asbury Park Press said there had been an average of one shooting per week in Asbury Park through October 25, 2012 and that the city was second only to Camden in terms of violent crimes in New Jersey. That’s right, Asbury Park is more dangerous than Newark, Trenton and Jersey City, where there were also three shootings today.
Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni announced a new partnership Crime Stoppers in an effort to encourage the public to share information with law enforcement. The announcement was made last evening at National Night Out events in Asbury Park, Neptune City, Neptune Township and Union Beach.
“Unfortunately people with information about crimes are often reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement because they are afraid of retaliation, they do not care enough to get involved or they want something in exchange for the information,” Gramiccioni said, “Crime stoppers offers cash, up to $5000, no questions asked, with anonymity as a solution to this lack of information.”
Citizens with information about a crime or fugitive may contact Monmouth County Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-671-4400, which is a confidential telephone tip line; they can text “MONMOUTH” plus their tip to 274637; or the can email a tip via the website at www.monmouthcountycrimestoppers.com
When a tipster contacts Crime Stoppers via tip line, email or text, the tipster is assigned a confidential code number, which becomes their only identity in the system. At no time does anyone ask a tipster for their name. When an arrest is made, the tipster will be told to go to the Crime Stopper’s bank in Freehold, provide the confidential code number, and collect the cash.
Gramiccioni asked the the crowd in Asbury Park for information about the September 2009 murder of Red Bank Middle School teacher Jonelle Melton, who was found in a pool of her own blood in her Neptune City home. He said the investigation has led law enforcement to believe that Melton’s murder was a case of mistaken identify; that the perpetrator went to the wrong home and intended to kill someone else.
Oceanport Police have arrested Jeffrey L. Bork, 65, of Eatontown and charged him with Criminal Sexual Contact. A betting teller at Monmouth Park, Bork is alleged to have groped the breasts of several female patrons of the racetrack after putting their betting vouchers down the front of their shirts, according to a statement released by Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramicconi.
The incidents reportedly occurred between 1PM and 4PM on Saturday July 13.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Oceanport Police Detective Jonathan Tucci at 732-222-6301 ext. 107.
Bork is being held at Golden’s Palace. His bail is $15,000 as set by Oceanport Municipal Judge Richard B. Thompson.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Colts Neck Police Department are seeking the public’s help in identifying the man seen in the sketch on the left.
The suspect is wanted for questioning about the stabbing of a 41-year-old Colts Neck woman inside her Bray Street home on Sunday, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.
A composite sketch is a drawing approximating a suspect’s facial appearance. Please keep in mind that appearances such as hair styles, beards and moustaches are easily changed. People gain and lose weight.
Anyone who recognizes, believes they recognize the man in the sketch or has any information about this case is asked to call Detective Andrea Tozzi, of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 1-800-533-7443, or Detective Richard Zarrillo, of the Colts Neck Police Department at 732-462-4343.
If you believe you may have information regarding the identification of the person depicted in the sketch, please contact either of the listed detectives whether or not you are 100 percent sure. All leads will be followed up in an appropriate fashion.
