Monmouth County Prosecutors and the Long Branch Police Department are seeking the general public’s assistance in the investigation into the murders of a Long Branch woman and her foster daughter.
Long Branch Police responded to a 911 call reporting a suspicious circumstance on Friday August 1 at 5:22 PM. Officers found the bodies of Joan Colbert, 62 and Veronica Roach, 10 in a first floor apartment of 61 Lippincott Avenue.
Dr. Diane Karlik of the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled both deaths homicides.
Investigators are asking anyone with any information that may be important to solving this crime to call Detective Richard Chapman, of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-577-8700, or Detective Ross Zotti, of the Long Branch Police Department at 732-222-1000.
Anyone who feels the need to remain anonymous but has information about a crime can contact Monmouth County Crime Stoppers confidential telephone tip-line by calling 1-800-671-4400; can text “MONMOUTH” plus their tip to 274637; or, they can email a tip via the website at www.monmouthcountycrimestoppers.com
Monmouth County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of criminals and fugitives.
Doherty: We were in the middle in the worst natural disaster in the history of New Jersey. Taking care of people trumps accounting principles
Mayor says he will ask ShopRite to replace lost cards
Belmar Borough Administrtor Colleen Connelly posing with cash donations. Photo provided by Councilman Jim Bean
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office has found that the Borough of Belmar distributed ShopRite gift cards purchased with cash donations in the wake of Super Storm Sandy without following generally accepted accounting principles.
In a letter to Councilman Jim Bean dated July 11, Special Deputy Attorney General/Acting Assistant Prosecutor John Loughrey said, “There is, however, every indication that the cards were not properly inventoried, adequately managed or or appropriately secured at any point after they were taken into custody of the Borough of Belmar.” Loughrey’s letter to Bean can be found here.
Loughrey said there is no evidence that any one person or groups misappropriated the Shoprite gift cards.
The Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation on January 31, 2014 after Bean discovered a $9,050 discrepancy in reports of how the cards were distributed. In answering OPRA (Open Public Record Act) requests from Bean, Belmar Elementary School business administrator Loretta Hill reported that the school received $7,950 in gift cards while Borough Clerk April Claudio said that $17,000 in gift cards were given to the school.
Richard Tremblay Jr. Joseph Gonsalves is charged with his death.
Joseph Gonsalves, 20, of Howell Township faces charges of Vehicular Homicide, Driving While Intoxicated, Underage Driving While Intoxicated, Reckless Driving, Speeding and Failure to Maintain Lane, according to an announcement by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. Gonsalves surrendered to the police yesterday and is in custody at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on $75,000 bail with no cash option as set by Judge Angela White Dalton.
On April 16, shortly after 10 p.m., Ronald Tremblay Jr, 21, also of Howell, was a passenger in the back seat of a car that Gonsalves was driving east on Alexander Ave when the vehicle left the road and struck several trees before coming to rest. Tremblay had head trauma and was found non-responsive in the backseat and died later that night at Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood, according to published reports of the accident. Another passenger, Brandon Roselli, 21 of Manalapan, suffered minor injuries, as did Tremblay.
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.
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino was in custody for over 2 hours on simple assault charges
Fiore wants the Monmouth County Prosecutor to investigate
Middletown Committeeman Gerry Scharfenberger cuts the ribbon at Sorrentino’s tanning salon last March. photo via facebook
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino was arrested in Middletown this afternoon after Township Police broke up a fight between the reality TV star schmuck and his brother Frank.
Detective Lt. Steve Dollinger told MMM that a call came into to the Middletown PD shortly after 2PM reporting a fight at the tanning salon owned by Sorrentino. The actor was arrested, charged with simple assault and released on $500 bail at around 5:15. Dollinger declined to comment further, but other sources told MMM that Frank Sorrentino had a black eye and that Mike’s hand was bandaged as a result of the fisticuffs.
The story of Sorrentino’s arrest was first reported by TMZ, the entertainment gossip website. Last week TMZ, which is located in Marina del Rey, California, broke the story that employees of the tanning salon filed complaints with the Middletown Police that their $100-$200 paychecks had bounced.
Narcan Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Marc LeMieux demonstrates how Narcan is administered. FREEHOLD – Monmouth County has become the second county in New Jersey to train every police officer with the opioid antidote Naloxone, also…
Asbury Park Police Officer Keith German is one of 31 charged in gang affiliated criminal organization
Acting Monmouth Prosecutor Gramiccioni announces Operation Dead End arrests in Asbury Park. Click photo for larger view.
Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni was joined by representatives of 26 Monmouth County and federal law enforcement agencies this afternoon when he announced charges levied against 31 people, including known members of the Bloods and Crips gangs as well as an Asbury Park Police Officer on charges including racketeering conspiracy, narcotics distribution, illegal possession of firearms, promoting organized street crime, armed robbery, shoplifting and endangering the welfare of of child.
Asbury Park Patrolman Keith German, a 16 year veteran of the department, was arrested and charged official misconduct and unauthorized access of a computer database for his alleged role in the criminal enterprise whereby he shared information with gang members in an effort to help them avoid arrest. Gramiccioni declined to share any evidence of German’s motives for participating in the criminal enterprise or to say if he would face additional charges.
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.
What helps a city fight crime? Media attention. Crime fighters don’t wish to be seen losing in the media.
Asbury Park’s gun crimes and murders get less television attention than other cities because it’s small and far from New York and Philadelphia. News 12 has to cover the state. The responsibility for keeping attention on unsolved murders in Asbury Park falls then on the Asbury Park Press.
Regarding Asbury Park killings, we’ve seen the Monmouth County prosecutor blame the city police, the county prosecutor make no progress himself and everyone blame the City Council. It was announced last week that state troopers will patrol the city, but car patrols lend themselves mostly to traffic tickets.
Left out of the conversation thus far is a very important crime fighter — U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman. He is a well-schooled, honorable lawyer who has spent his career fighting crime, including a concentration on illegal narcotics, the antecedent problem that leads to gangs and murder.
Former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie built a legacy of putting corrupt politicians in jail. Former U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani prosecuted organized crime. Fishman can have a more honorable distinction than both of them — saving young lives and removing fear from a community.
Nationwide, the U.S. Attorney’s office has a nearly $2 billion budget, and New Jersey’s district is the fifth largest in America, with 145 lawyers and support staff. Fishman has resources. More importantly, he wields an effective crime-fighting law: The Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations statute (RICO).
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.
