Free Republic

A Newark Police Officer struck and killed a nurse with his car and then drove the body to his mother’s house seeking advice before returning to the scene with the body, officials said on Wednesday. Louis Santiago, 25, of Bloomfield was arrested and charged with reckless vehicular homicide, desecrating human remains and other charges after he hit and killed 29-year-old nurse Damian Dymka, of Garfield, on the Garden State Parkway, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Glenn Youngkin has clinched the governor's race in Virginia. In fact, the GOP dominated the Old Dominion, sweeping all three major statewide races. Republicans won the lieutenant governor and attorney general races. They're poised to flip the House of Delegates. It's over in Virginia—but up the road on I-95, we have another close race in New Jersey. Yes, you read that right. The state has been a graveyard for Republicans, except for Chris Christie, Tom Kean, and Christine Todd Whitman. No one thought Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy was in danger. No one thought this was going to be a competitive...

Newark – Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, announced that convicted serial killer Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, now 25, of Orange was sentenced today to 160 years for killing three young woman and attempting to kill a fourth between August 2016 and November 2016. Wheeler-Weaver used dating apps to lure his victims. In December 2019, an Essex County jury convicted Wheeler-Weaver on three counts of murder in connection with the deaths of Sarah Butler, 20, Robin West, 19, and Joanne Brown, 33. He was also found guilty of the kidnapping, sexual assault, and attempted murder of a fourth woman, Tiffany...

The siblings of a West Caldwell 18-year-old charged in a drunken driving crash that seriously injured his twin brother begged him not to get behind the wheel as he tried to leave a house party in town, according to authorities. Anthony Dattoli was “obviously intoxicated” when he made his way to an Audi A4 parked outside a home on Annin Road early on the morning of June 27, according affidavit of probable cause filed in support of the charges.

Several whistleblowers came forward in the months leading up to the November 2020 election, and even for a few weeks afterward, to warn about votes being unlawfully handled or distributed by the USPS. They were disregarded by the dishonest mainstream media. Whistleblowers and anyone who believed them were mocked by the Democratic Party. Now, a US Postal Service employee has admitted to tossing 1,875 pieces of mail into the dumpster, including ballots for the November 2020 election. The Hudson County USPS mail carrier revealed today that he dumped mail from his assigned routes in Orange and West Orange, including 99...

Newark, N.J. ‘To all the jackasses out there who we now have to carry—get with the program,” Gov. Phil Murphy fulminated on Twitter April 6. “We know who you are and we will not relent until we have 100% compliance.” On May 2 he added: “ATTN KNUCKLEHEADS: KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE #FlattenTheCurve.” But New Jersey relented on Saturday as thousands massed in the streets of Newark, the state’s most populous city. While many protesters did avail themselves of masks, standing 6 feet apart—as per the state’s oft-repeated guidelines—was impossible. Mr. Murphy’s prohibition on “outdoor gatherings” was still in effect, although...

A 3-year-old boy was "severely" beaten and abused -- including being burned with scalding water -- by six adults, in a consistent and coordinated form of punishment, New Jersey officials said. Patricia Gamarra, 62, Mary Buchan, 55, Patricia Buchan, 28, Bridget Buchan, 23, Natacha Smith, 43, and Homer Searcy, 39, were arrested and charged with aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of the toddler, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Wednesday. Smith is the 3-year-old boy’s mother, though it’s unclear if the five others have any relation to the child. The six people were living in the home...

Don Cresitello is not the kind of guy to say "I hate to say I told you so."  In fact he takes great pleasure in doing so. And the Democratic former mayor of Morristown told you long ago that we need better coordination between local and federal authorities when it comes to dealing with potentially violent undocumented immigrants.That was proven against last week when an undocumented Mexican immigrant murdered three people in Missouri after being released from the Middlesex County jail in December to await trial on charges of domestic violence.That incident brought memories of a 2007 incident in which...

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - The Essex County Freeholders called for the ouster of the New Jersey Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson but have not budged on ending its controversial contract with the agency. At its Wednesday meeting in Maplewood, the freeholders board passed a resolution supporting other lawmakers who have called for Emilio Karim Dabul to be terminated from his position as ICE spokesperson. Dabul has publicly defended people who the Southern Poverty Law Center have labeled anti-Muslim. Dabul referred questions to ICE headquarters in Washington D.C. A spokesperson from headquarters responded with a brief statement, which included a link...

A New Jersey board of education member is facing a call to resign Wednesday after video surfaced purportedly showing her trying to “manipulate” a police officer by exercising “civic privilege” after she was pulled over for speeding. The woman in the April 27 dash-cam video, who identifies herself as Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad, a South Orange and Maplewood Board of Education member, also is heard telling one of the town’s officers that she is “scared of cops because you guys hurt black people,” before calling the cop's boss a “skinhead.”... “Ma’am, do you want me to call an ambulance?” Horst asks her....

SOUTH ORANGE — A group of black parent activists are calling on a black school board member to step down after she was caught on video calling a white police officer's chief a “skinhead cop” during a traffic stop. Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad was pulled over April 27 after an officer found her driving 37 mph in a 25 mph zone. When the officer approached her driver-side window, Lawson-Muhammad begins by pointing out that she is on the Board of Education. She then quickly breaks down into tears, saying that her daughter is going to be late for school “and I’m scared...

Faced with a steep drop in student enrollment, Essex County College will eliminate 34 positions by next year as it remains under close watch -- and probation -- by its accrediting agency. The layoffs of 20 full-time staff and elimination of 14 vacant positions will save $2.76 million, college officials said. Included on the list: A top-ranking administrator who was placed on paid leave after a vocal group of clergy called for her ouster. Joyce Wilson Harley, vice president of administration and finance, lobbed allegations of wrongdoing against President Anthony Munroe, who in turn, accused Harley of undermining his authority....

Seven members of a cable television crew have been arrested after they tried to sneak a fake explosive device through a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport, the Transportation Security Administration said Thursday. A law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation said that the team was filming for cable network CNBC, which is based in Englewood Cliffs. The TSA did not release the names of the people they said were arrested, and the Port Authority only said that it was investigating the incident. The law enforcement source said the crew likely would be charged by the Essex County...

The last Republican to win Essex was probably Tom Kean Sr. in 1985. When did Essex County trend sharply to the left? I live in NJ, but I do not know much about Essex politics since I am a Central Jerseyan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_gubernatorial_election,_1985

TRENTON -- An Essex County welfare division employee has been indicted on charges she filed bogus claims for more than $7,000 in wage reimbursement and disability payments for work she claimed to have missed because of car accidents, authorities said Wednesday. Fatu K. Rimbert, 31, of Perth Amboy, was charged with insurance fraud, impersonation and theft by deception, according to the state Attorney General's Office. Rimbert is accused of submitting "forged and altered" documents to insurance firms in order to get wage reimbursement and disability payments for days she was purportedly out of work after two vehicle accidents, prosecutors said.

NEWARK — The community college serving one of New Jersey’s largest counties has been embroiled in controversy for the better part of the last two years. What started with the quick, unexpected ouster of its president last Spring has spiraled into one scandal after another that are now threatening the federal funding that keeps Essex County College’s doors open. The six scandals below have contributed to the Middle States Commission last week putting the college on probation. The school has another year to fix its finance and governance issues or risk losing its accreditation.

NEWARK -- Essex County College's accrediting agency issued its most severe rebuke yet to the institution on Monday, citing the college's ongoing troubles and placing it on probation. The escalated action moves the college one step closer toward having its accreditation revoked, which would mean students are no longer eligible for federal financial aid and in most cases would be unable to afford attending the school and ending a revenue stream that could shut the college's doors. Losing accreditation is very rare but for Essex County College, which serves more than 10,000 students and employs 500 people, the consequences could...

If you live in New York City and are at a stage in your life when you're contemplating a move to the suburbs (or your friends have begun to leave the city en masse), you've probably heard of at least one of these towns in Essex County: Montclair, Maplewood, and Glen Ridge. That's because these three spots, all accessible via New Jersey Transit trains, are eternally popular among NYC expats looking for more space and a little more greenspace for their green. "We have a lot of people coming from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey City and Hoboken," says Stacie Levy of...

It isn’t difficult to guess the reasons why a late-term abortion clinic in New Jersey didn’t want pregnant employees to be working there. It could be bad for its $1.8 million-a-year business. The Pilgrim Medical Center, a Montclair abortion clinic that advertises same-day, late-term abortions, recently lost a discrimination lawsuit filed by three former employees who said they were fired after becoming pregnant, according to the Wall Street Journal. Now, the abortion facility is filing for bankruptcy. Nicholas Campanella, the abortionist who owns the facility, has a reputation among his staff for “not lik[ing] pregnant employees,” according to the lawsuit....

If you're thinking about ringing in the New Year in two New Jersey cities you want want to think again, according a new study by WalletHub. Analysts at the consumer and small business web site probed the 100 biggest cities based on 17 levels of criteria ranging from the average price of a New Year's Eve party ticket, weather and the legality of fireworks. As for the two New Jersey cities on the list? Jersey City and Newark brought up the rear at No. 98 and 99 respectively.