If you've driven by the Halloween-bedecked Dentist's office on Grove Street (near Route 3, in Clifton) today, you might be wondering if the huge "ROBBERY HERE CANCELS HALLOWEEN" signs are part of the hoax, as we did.

Sadly, they're for real  - vandals stole over 20 of the figures (worth an unsubstantiated $75,000 but might that be a tad exaggerated?).  Ironically, that house was on the Clifton Police Department's "Frequent Watch" list, but this, and despite the fact that a neighbor put numerous calls in the the police, did not stop the thugs from grabbing  those bloody mannequins, headless brides and skeletons.   

October 28, 2005 in Scandal | Permalink | Comments (38)

From the Star Ledger, a Bloomfield officer known for his gambling habit has now been charged with doing double duty as a bookie:

FBI agents and state troopers on Thursday arrested a Bloomfield police officer on charges he operated an illegal sports gambling business. The officer, William Abendschoen Sr., collected debts while on duty in uniform and a wiretap revealed that he took bets by phone, according to a federal complaint filed by the FBI.

Abendschoen's lawyer, Timothy M. Donohue, said his client did have a gambling problem. "However," said Donohue, "he was never part of any gambling business. He was nothing more than a gambler, and there's no crime in that." He said Abendschoen attended Gambler's Anonymous meetings and that his performance as an officer has not been questioned.

Meanwhile, an embezzling former Bloomfield Township employee who pilfered close to a half million from a prescription drug reimbursement program was sentenced to five years yesterday

Joanne Tricarico, 56, pleaded guilty to second-degree counts of theft by deception and official misconduct in May, acknowledging that for seven years she had stolen the money from the township's insurance fund.

The missing money, $482,578.82, was discovered during an audit of the reimbursement program, which allowed the township's 440 employees to get advance re-payment of their prescription costs.

July 8, 2005 in Scandal | Permalink | Comments (0)

Trouble in Essex County. From our friend Shabe, news of damage control a press conference this afternoon regarding correction officers who were charged with supplying inmates with drugs, specifically marijuana and ecstasy.

June 13, 2005 in Scandal | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to that reputable source, the New York Post, a 49-year-old Bloomfield woman was nabbed in yesterday's bust of a high-priced Manhattan call-girl ring.

December 8, 2004 in Scandal | Permalink | Comments (7)

The Star-Ledger reports today that a priest at St. Valentine's Roman Catholic Church in Bloomfield has stepped down from his duties, due to charges of sexual abuse that go back about 30 years.

According to the article, Monsignor Robert Chabak, 58, is accused of molesting a teenage boy over a period of three years, while assigned to St. Mary of the Assumption in Elizabeth.

Because the alleged crime took place in Elizabeth, the case has been handed over to the prosecutor's office in Union County.

November 16, 2004 in Scandal | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now we don't feel so bad about not being the first to hear about the football scandal. Local officials forgot to tell Mayor Ed Remsen as well. Remsen, who took some heat here and on the Cooler for his comments to the New York Times on the footballer rape case, explained that his comments were off the cuff because he didn't find out about the story until it broke in the newspapers. We asked Remsen how that could be, since school officals knew about it by last Wednesday, two days before the story broke. He tells us that town manager Joe Hartnett and police chief David Sabagh, both new to their jobs, failed to brief him. Remsen plans to get a full briefing from Hartnett, Sabagh and schools superintendent Frank Alvarez today ... Essex County prosecutors are still deciding whether to try the accused football players, 15 and 16, as adults ... You think it's easy to cover a high school rape case story? The New York Times put five reporters and one rewrite man on the case ... The story breaks at just the wrong time for the Montclair Times, the day after its weekly publication, but they caught up in their electronic edition yesterday... Surprise, surprise, the residents of Montclair don't like press coverage of the story, particulary a line in the first New York Times story about "gritty streets with hair-braiding parlors." .... And denizens of Glen Ridge, where a high school athlete rape case rocked the town in 1989, are unhappy about the inevitable comparisons.

October 11, 2004 in Scandal | Permalink | Comments (16)

The AP reports that two Montclair High School varsity football players were charged with rape today. The boys, identified as 15 and 16 in this report, were also charged with kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and conspiracy in the Sunday night incident. They were expected to turn themselves in today.

The victim is a 15-year-old classmate at Montclair High School. None of the names were released.

The story lead at least one local newscast at 5 pm, and if the 1989 Glen Ridge rape case is any guide, a local TV onslaught is just beginning.

October 8, 2004 in Scandal | Permalink | Comments (3)