Day: December 1, 2021

Mercer County, Trenton

Trenton Unveils New Signs Directing Residents and Visitors to More than Three Dozen Eateries in the Chambersburg Restaurant District

Project Updates Signs of the Past to Reflect Trenton’s Culinary Present

December 1, 2021

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Mayor W. Reed Gusciora today announced a joint community and city project to install new directional signs pointing to more than 36 restaurants in Trenton’s historic Chambersburg district.

“Chambersburg is a landmark part of the Capital City, and we want to make it as easy as possible for residents and visitors alike to explore the fantastic food in this vibrant neighborhood,” said Mayor Gusciora. “This is a celebration of what makes Trenton unique and I’m certain these signs will guide patrons to wonderful experiences.”

The City of Trenton’s Division of Economic Development funded this renewal effort as part of its Shop Trenton initiative. The Chambersburg sign project was designed and implemented by Bernard McMullan, the coordinator of Taste Trenton, a restaurant crawl focused on Trenton. The project began with seed funding from the I Am Trenton Community Foundation.

“We recognize that restaurants are among the most challenging and risky businesses. We hope all the restaurants listed on these signs survive for a long time,” said McMullan.

“It was very important to us to celebrate the amazing Latino businesses in Chambersburg,” said Iana Dikidjieva, Vice President and Grants Chair of I Am Trenton. “Updating the signage brings immense benefit and pride to the city.”

“The Latino Merchants Association is pleased to represent the Latino Community and Latino businesses who serve in the city of Trenton,” said Jenna Kettenburg Figueroa, Executive Board Member of the Latino Merchants Association. “We work hard to unify the communities in this city, and we support and encourage good business to provide for our community and to bring revenue to the city that will pour back into the communities we serve.  We are proud of all the thriving Latino restaurants who have found their homes in the Chambersburg restaurant district.”

As part of the project, McMullan mapped out the location of each signpost and identified more than 36 new restaurants in the area. McMullan then removed the names of the old restaurants from each of the 78 existing placards, repainted the signs in a brick-red color that matched the crosswalks along Roebling Avenue, installed new placards as needed to accommodate additional restaurants, and added the new restaurant names to each sign.

The refurbished set of signs and placards now direct residents and visitors to more than three dozen eateries in the Chambersburg restaurant district.

In the next phase of the project, several signs that were damaged and removed will be replaced. Several “Welcome to Chambersburg: Trenton’s Restaurant District” will also be installed on major roads bordering the area.

Photos and video by Brian McCarthy OnSceneNews

The signs were repainted and each of the old placards were replaced with new restaurants.
The event was at the intersection at Roebling Ave and S. Clinton Ave
HED Director Daniels, Mayor Gusciora and Bernard McMullan
I Am Trenton provided seed funding for the project
Sign Project Designer, Bernard McMullan and Mayor Gusciora with the Owner of Casdeluna Bar & Restaurant
Taste Trenton, Latino Merchants Association, I Am Trenton and city officials gather to celebrate new signs
Photos in the gallery provided by the City of Trenton
Mercer County, Trenton

Police Catch Juvenile with Gun in Trenton; One More Gun Off the Street

December 1, 2021

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Around 2:00 p.m. police were seen in a foot pursuit of a juvenile in the area Passaic Street. Police report a gun was recovered from a juvenile.

In photos police can be seen with one person in custody and another officer has a handgun that was recovered from Passaic Street.

Photos by Brian McCarthy OnSceneNews
Mercer County, Robbinsville, Robbinsville, State of NJ, Trenton

Former Chief Lending Officer Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Making False Statements to United States to Secure Federal Guarantees on Loans for Business in Robbinsville, NJ

In addition to the prison term, Judge Shipp sentenced Bortolotti to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $3.17 million to the SBA.

“On Feb. 29, 2012, a consultant from the consulting firm submitted an application to the SBA for a guarantee of approximately $3.75 million on loans totaling approximately $5 million made to a small business located in Robbinsville, New Jersey. The application contained false information related to the creditworthiness of the business. Bortolotti knew the application contained false information, but he nevertheless reviewed and signed the application on behalf of the bank.“

December 1, 2021

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)—A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for securing a federal guarantee on certain loans by making false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA) about the creditworthiness of those loans while serving as the chief lending officer of a New Jersey bank, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

James Bortolotti, 53, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of knowingly making false statements for the purpose of influencing the action of the SBA. Judge Shipp imposed the sentence by videoconference today.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

While serving as the chief lending officer of a New Jersey bank (Bank-1), Bortolotti became aware of a Small Business Administration lending program to incentivize lenders, including banks, to loan money to small businesses by providing a 75 percent SBA-backed guarantee on loans. When a lender applies an SBA guarantee on a loan, the lender must disclose information related to the creditworthiness of the small business. Bank-1 hired a consulting firm to help the bank apply for SBA-backed guarantees.

On Feb. 29, 2012, a consultant from the consulting firm submitted an application to the SBA for a guarantee of approximately $3.75 million on loans totaling approximately $5 million made to a small business located in Robbinsville, New Jersey. The application contained false information related to the creditworthiness of the business. Bortolotti knew the application contained false information, but he nevertheless reviewed and signed the application on behalf of the bank.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Shipp sentenced Bortolotti to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $3.17 million to the SBA.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the SBA-Office of the Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Eastern Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite; the FDIC-Office of the Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), under the direction of Inspector General Jay N. Lerner; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and special agents of the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee M. Cortes Jr., Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.

21-549 

Defense counsel: Rod Honecker Esq., New Brunswick, New Jersey

Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com
Middlesex County, State of NJ

Former State Trooper Sentenced To 1-Year in NJ State Prison For Unlawfully Stopping And Following Female Motorist in His Patrol Vehicle

December 1, 2021

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck announced that a former New Jersey state trooper was sentenced to state prison after pleading guilty earlier this year in connection with an incident in which he stalked a female motorist in his patrol vehicle while on duty.

Michael Patterson, 30, of Bayonne, N.J., was sentenced yesterday to 12 months in state prison without possibility of parole by Superior Court Judge Andrea Carter in Middlesex County. Patterson pleaded guilty on Aug. 17, 2021 to a charge of fourth-degree tampering with public records. As a result of his guilty plea, Patterson forfeited his position as a state trooper and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.

In pleading guilty, Patterson admitted that he purposely disabled the Digital In-Vehicle Recorder (DIVR) in his troop car to prevent it from capturing a motor vehicle stop he conducted so that he could make advances on the female motorist during the incident in question.

Deputy Attorneys General Adam Gerken and Jonathan Gilmore represented the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) at the sentencing hearing. The New Jersey State Police Office of Professional Standards initially investigated the case and referred it to the OPIA Corruption Bureau.

On Jan. 28, 2020, Trooper Patterson conducted a motor vehicle stop of a female motorist on the New Jersey Turnpike at approximately 9:30 p.m. Patterson let the woman go with a warning, but he conducted a second, unwarranted stop of her vehicle a few minutes later when she exited the Turnpike at Exit 11 in order to make advances on her. Patterson disabled the DIVR in his vehicle to prevent his conduct from being recorded during this stop. The investigation revealed that Patterson subsequently put the victim in fear by following her to her home in his patrol vehicle.

“We are committed to holding law enforcement officers accountable when they abuse their positions of trust,” said Acting Attorney General Bruck. “The New Jersey State Police expect the highest standards of conduct from their troopers, and the vast majority meet those standards each and every day. We owe it to the troopers, and to the public at large, to take strong action when individual officers betray those standards and engage in criminal conduct.”

“One of the primary missions of OPIA is to root out official misconduct that undermines faith in law enforcement and government,” said OPIA Executive Director Thomas Eicher. “This is not the first time we have encountered this type of conduct involving a law enforcement officer, but we hope that our criminal prosecutions will deter such conduct going forward.”

“The New Jersey State Police holds its troopers to the highest level of professional standards of any law enforcement agency in the country through a robust system of checks and balances that is designed to not only hold its members accountable, but to serve as a tool to provide training and counseling through early intervention,” said Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “The conduct revealed in this investigation stands in stark contrast to the core values of the New Jersey State Police and is a betrayal to the public and to the entire law enforcement community.”

OPIA has a toll-free Tipline 1-844-OPIA-TIPS for the public to report corruption. The Attorney General’s Office has an Anti-Corruption Reward Program that offers a reward of up to $25,000 for tips leading to a conviction for a crime involving public corruption. Information is posted at: http://nj.gov/oag/corruption/reward.html.

Defense Attorney: Joseph Surman, Esq., New Brunswick, N.J.

Michael Patterson, 30, of Bayonne, N.J., was sentenced yesterday to 12 months in state prison without possibility of parole by Superior Court Judge Andrea Carter in Middlesex County. Patterson pleaded guilty on Aug. 17, 2021 to a charge of fourth-degree tampering with public records. As a result of his guilty plea, Patterson forfeited his position as a state trooper and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.

State Trooper Pleads Guilty To Criminal Charge Related To Incident In Which He Unlawfully Stopped and Followed a Female Motorist in His Patrol Vehicle
Indictment Charges NJ State Trooper With Official Misconduct For Allegedly Unlawfully Stopping and Following a Female Motorist in His Patrol Vehicle
NJ State Trooper Charged With Unlawful Stopping And Following A Female Motorist In His Patrol Vehicle
Howell, Monmouth County

Howell High School Student Arrested in SnapChat Threat

December 1, 2021

HOWELL TOWNSHIP, NJ (MONMOUTH)–A Howell High School student was arrested yesterday within an hour of posting a threat on SnapChat using an AirSoft rifle. Although the AirSoft rifle is not a real firearm it looks identical to an actual rifle. Once the SnapChat was shared members of the community notified the police department of the possible threat. See statements from Howell Police Chief Kudrick and Principial Braverman below.

Messages from Chief Kudrick and Principal Braverman Re: SnapChat post:

CHIEF KUDRICK’S MESSAGE
This evening I was notified of a post on SnapChat. I immediately contacted Principal Braverman. Shortly thereafter I was notified by my road supervisor that they too received the same report from the community. Within an hour, the student was arrested. He was found to be in possession of an AirSoft rifle. The same one depicted in the photo. Although not a real firearm it certainly is identical to an actual rifle.
We thank the community who recognized this potential threat and immediately shared across social media platforms and notified the police department.
This was a poor decision by this juvenile. Although no credible threat of violence is assumed, we will have an increased police presence at the high school tomorrow.
I thank all of you who saw something and said something. My officers, under the supervision of Sgt Encarnacion did an outstanding job.

PRINCIPAL BRAVERMAN’S MESSAGE
Good evening,
In order to avoid further public alarm, and in partnership with HTPD Chief Kudrick, we are informing our school community that we were made aware of threatening remarks made this evening on SnapChat. These remarks were immediately investigated by HTPD and found to be not credible. The student that posted these remarks will not be in school for the immediate future. As always, we are mindful of student confidentiality, but in light of the unrest of the public and our students, and to protect the safety of all students and staff, we are sharing this information. To that end, we join in the request of the Howell Police Department that everyone be mindful not to circulate or interpret rumors or speculative information as true. As always, the health and safety of all our students and staff is our foremost concern. Chief Kudrick and I have spoken multiple times this evening and will remain in close contact regarding this matter.

Mr. Braverman