Lawmakers in Harrisburg Take Aim at Special Funds

By Dave Lemery |

The Center Square

HARRISBURG, PA–To Eileen Norcross, special funds in state budgets have the effect of disguising spending, concealing from the public what state government is actually doing with public dollars, which she calls “fiscal evasion.”

Norcross is vice president of policy research at the Mercatus Center, a free-market oriented public policy research center at George Mason University. She spoke late last week at a news conference in Harrisburg focused on a package of legislation designed to rein in spending.

“The proliferation of special funds are not unique to Pennsylvania, but their growth may be a sign of weak spending discipline,” she said. “The effect is to diminish budget transparency and to give both policymakers and the public a false sense of the true amount of spending, public policy priorities and the taxes necessary to support those programs.”

She noted that Pennsylvania’s total budget spending has grown from $56 billion in 2006 to $84 billion today, a rate of growth that she blamed on special funds.

“The practice of off-budget accounting or the creation of special funds can be problematic, effectively creating a shadow budget that isn\’t subject to the same legislative oversight, debate or rules that apply to the general fund,” she said. “The outcome is a two track general fund budget in which the general fund appears to be flat or declining, while the overall budget grows.”

Rep. Dawn Keefer, R-Dillsburg, is introducing a piece of legislation that would begin to address Norcross’s concerns. House Bill 1991 would ban the creation of new special funds within the budget, which Keefer said is timely because there are currently efforts ongoing to continue creating new special funds.

“The way we have our budget layered with all of these different shenanigans of how to shift money around from one fund to another, or from the general fund to offline spending, is a false sense of our financial picture, and we have completely evaded any kind of accountability that our taxpayers deserve,” Keefer said. “We need to get our fiscal house in order.”

Also introduced at the news conference was Rep. Andrew Lewis’s House Bill 1990, which would establish a Council on State Finances made up of administration officials and lawmakers of both parties to work on the annual state budget process in the open, instead of the current process that takes place behind close doors.

Rep. Tim O’Neal’s House Bill 1989, meanwhile, would dictate that surplus funds at the end of each fiscal year would automatically be deposited into the state’s rainy day fund. O’Neal noted that Pennsylvania lawmakers have received praise for adding $300 million to the rainy day fund this year, but he said that amount was nowhere near sufficient.

“The reality is, with the current budget in the rainy day fund, the Commonwealth can only operate for 3½ days,” O’Neal said. “We are on the verge of financial peril. And this is in one of the best economies that any of us have seen in our lifetime.”

Acting as emcee at the news conference was Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, the chairman of the House’s new Government Oversight Committee. He introduced House Bill 1988 to return 17 special funds with $2.08 billion back to the general fund, and he said that the four bills were key to the state becoming more responsible with taxpayer dollars.

“This financial reform package of legislation will reduce the state borrowing, improve our credit rating and strengthen the commonwealth rainy day fund,” he said. “These four common sense reforms are smart and innovative solutions House Republicans have been championing.”

published here with permission of The Center Square

Joseph Brodie, 40, of Millville Sentenced For Threatening To Murder A Congressman & His Staff

CAMDEN CITY N.J. – A New Jersey resident was sentenced yesterday to 87 months in prison for threatening to murder former U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo and members of the congressman’s staff, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Joseph Brodie, 40, of Millville, New Jersey, was previously convicted in Camden federal court on two counts of making threats to officials, officers and employees of the United States – specifically, for a telephone threat to murder LoBiondo’s chief of staff and an email threat to murder LoBiondo, his chief of staff, his veterans affairs liaison, and all of the other staff of the Mays Landing office. During the sentencing hearing yesterday, the Court determined that over the course of the prosecution, Brodie had obstructed justice and that there also was evidence to show he had intended to carry out his threats.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:

In the spring of 2017, Brodie reached out to LoBiondo seeking assistance with the medical care and treatment that Brodie was receiving from the Veterans Administration. Over the course of the next few months, Brodie spoke and corresponded with the congressman’s Veterans Affairs Liaison and a caseworker, both of whom assisted him with appointments and meetings regarding his medical care. On Sept. 19, 2017, Brodie contacted the congressman’s office and spoke to the chief of staff on the phone. Brodie wanted the chief of staff to arrange a meeting with the congressman, but the chief of staff refused. During this phone call, Brodie became angry and ultimately threatened the life of the chief of staff – calling him “a dead man.”

Approximately an hour and a half later, Brodie sent an email to the congressman’s veterans’ affairs liaison as well as the caseworker, threatening their lives as well as the lives of the congressman and his staff in the Mays Landing Office. In this email, Brodie stated that he wanted to meet the congressman “face to face” and he pointed out “how easy” it was to find the congressman’s Mays Landing Office. Brodie also attached a terrain map of the area, with the area around the congressman’s office enlarged for detail and a red pinpoint location marker on the office. Writing about the map, Brodie stated, “[i]t even shows the environment and surrounding terrain, parking lots, wooded areas, etc., (like the kind a highly trained Combat Infantryman would use)…”

On the same day as the threats, Brodie sent text messages to his fiancée stating: “I threaten the life of a Congressman’s Chief of Staff. I’m pretty sure the Secret Service are going to investigate.” He also wrote that he was “prepared” for any law enforcement officers who might respond to his home. He wrote, “I’ll give them a chance to leave. If not, it’ll be First Blood Part II Type Shit (if you never saw that Rambo movie).” Brodie also wrote, “I won’t surrender. It’s not in me.” The same day, Brodie spoke to his fiancée on the phone and told her that he was going to travel to an address in New Jersey, that he had GPS coordinates in his car, that he was going to kill LoBiondo’s chief of staff, and that there was going to be a “blood bath.”

One week later, in a statement recorded by the FBI, Brodie confessed to having made the phone threat to the chief of staff on Sept. 19, 2017, and to having sent the email threat on Sept. 19, 2017.

The evidence showed that at the time Brodie made these threats, Brodie owned several firearms and a large amount of ammunition at his home.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; special agents of the U.S. Capitol Police, under the direction of Chief Steven Sund; officers from the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, with the investigation leading to yesterday’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara A. Aliabadi and Jason Richardson, of the Camden office.

Defense counsel: Gina Amoriello, Esquire, Westmont, NJ and Philadelphia, PA

Newark Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Firearms Offense

Related To Shooting Of 5-Year-Old Girl

NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Jamar Battle, 31, was previously convicted after a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge

William J. Martini on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The jury deliberated two hours before delivering the guilty verdict. Judge Martini imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:

On the evening of July 4, 2018, Battle was involved in an argument with his girlfriend and was waiting for her outside of her home. After she arrived near her home, Battle fired six shots at the car she had been riding in as it pulled away. He did not hit his intended target, but did hit a 5-year old girl who had been walking with her father after watching a neighborhood fireworks display. The child survived the shooting but suffered a major injury that required immediate medical attention.

Prior to this shooting, Battle had been convicted of six felonies. In 2015, Battle was sentenced to New Jersey State Prison on two firearms offenses and had just been released from prison in May 2018.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Martini sentenced Battle to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited law enforcement officers of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose; special agents of the Department of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson in Newark; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens 2nd, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government was represented by Senior Trial Counsel Robert Frazer and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Naazneen Khan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violent Crimes Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Michael P. Koribanics Esq., Clifton, New Jersey

AG Grewal Sues Companies for Selling Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines into NJ

Some Refused To Turn Over Evidence of Prior Sales

Elite Aluminum Complaint

22MODSFORALL Complaint

TRENTON

– Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today filed suit against two separate out-of-state companies which previously sold illegal large capacity magazines (LCMs) to undercover state investigators in New Jersey, and which have failed to comply with state subpoenas demanding the records of their New Jersey sales.

New Jersey law prohibits the possession and sale of firearm magazines that are capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. LCMs allow a shooter to fire an unusually high number of bullets at a time, without requiring the shooter to even pause and reload. As a result, violence that involves LCMs can result in more shots fired, persons wounded, and wounds per victim than other gun attacks.

Although both Elite Aluminum of Holly Hill, Fla., and 22Mods4All of Longwood, Fla., appear to have discontinued sales of LCMs into New Jersey after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Attorney General Grewal, both companies have refused to turn over documents showing their prior sales into the state, despite receiving a subpoena.

This investigation predates, and is unrelated to, the attack in Jersey City last week.

“Large capacity magazines are illegal in New Jersey, which is why I’m continuing to file suits against LCM companies that sell their products to our consumers,” said Attorney General Grewal. “The companies we’re going after today have repeatedly stonewalled and withheld evidence from investigators, despite a subpoena. These lawsuits serve as yet another warning to the industry: hide the extent of your unlawful sales from our investigators, and we will see you in court.”

“New Jersey banned the possession and sale of LCMs because of their devastatingly lethal capacity, and because of the role such products have played in tragedy after tragedy around the country,” said Division of Consumer Affairs Acting Director Paul R. Rodríguez. “Not only do we allege that these companies put New Jersey residents at risk by selling dangerous, illegal weapons into the state, exposing purchasers to criminal liability, they have now failed to comply with our investigation. These two sellers have had ample warning and time to cooperate. Their time has run out, and we’re taking them to court.”

Filed in Superior Court in Essex County, the State’s lawsuits against Elite Aluminum and 22Mods4All each include two counts. The first count addresses alleged violations of the Consumer Fraud Act that occurred when the companies offered and sold LCMs to New Jersey buyers despite the fact that possessing an LCM is a fourth-degree crime in New Jersey punishable by up to 18 months in prison and fines of up to $10,000. The second count centers on the failure of both sellers to comply with a subpoena for records documenting their sales activities in New Jersey dating back five years.

The sales information was first requested in cease-and-desist letters sent to both vendors by Attorney General Grewal on January 7, 2019.

The Elite Aluminum cease-and-desist letter came in the wake of the company’s sale and delivery of eight 30-round LCMs to an undercover Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) detective through three separate transactions in 2018.

The 22Mods4All cease-and-desist letter came in the wake of the company’s sale and delivery of nine 30-round LCMs to an undercover DCJ detective in two separate transactions, also in 2018.

Attorney General Grewal’s letters called on Elite Aluminum and 22Mods4All to stop advertising, selling and/or shipping LCMs to New Jersey. Both appear to be complying with that portion of the letter, as revealed by subsequent undercover efforts to purchase LCMs from both vendors in 2019.

However, the cease-and-desist letters to Elite Aluminum and 22Mods4All also called on each to provide details of past sales of LCMs to any New Jersey address since January 1, 2014, which would allow the State to identify the extent of the companies’ LCM sales and alleged legal violations.

After neither company complied with the demand for information in Attorney General Grewal’s cease-and-desist letters, the Division issued a subpoena to 22Mods4All in July 2019, and to Elite Aluminum in August 2019.

Neither company has complied with the subpoena. 22Mods4All did not respond at all, while Elite Aluminum failed to supply the demanded documents.

Today’s lawsuit is not the first action by Attorney General Grewal to protect New Jersey residents from illegal firearm products and gun violence filed this year. Among other things, in June, Attorney General Grewal filed suit against a Nevada company – New Frontier Armory – after it ignored a cease-and-desist letter and allegedly sold six LCMs to an undercover state investigator, including a 100-round magazine, a 30-round magazine and a 15-round magazine.

And earlier this year – on March 22 – Attorney General Grewal filed suit against James Tromblee, Jr., owner of the California-based “ghost gun” company U.S. Patriot Armory. The lawsuit alleged that U.S. Patriot Armory violated the State’s Consumer Fraud Act by continuing to advertise, market, and offer for sale ghost guns to New Jersey residents. (Ghost guns are partially-assembled firearms sold with the parts needed to create a fully-operational gun – and often even with the instructions on how to do so.) That same month, Attorney General Grewal announced criminal charges against individuals trafficking ghost guns into the state.

Sentencing of Millville Suspect Announced for Drug Induced Death Case

December 23, 2019

Cape May Court House, New Jersey – Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland announced the sentencing of Christopher R. Small, a 41 year old male from Millville, NJ, who was sentenced on Friday December 20, 2019, to 25 years in New Jersey State Prison by the

Honorable Judge Gibson, JSC.

This sentence was related to a October 3, 2018, drug induced death investigation of the victim, Kevin MacFarlane, a 54 year old male from Avalon, NJ, initiated by Troopers and Detectives from the New Jersey State Police Woodbine Barracks.

Defendant Christopher Small was sentenced to 20 years in New Jersey State Prison with no early release for the drug-induced death of the victim and a consecutive 5 year term for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.

Prosecutor Sutherland stated that his office as well as all law enforcement agencies throughout Cape May County will aggressively investigate and prosecute those who engage in the distribution of CDS, especially those individuals who distribute CDS which results in the death of another. Sentencing for Christopher Verity, a co-defendant in this drug induced death investigation, is scheduled for January 16, 2020.

Prosecutor Sutherland would like to recognize the investigative efforts of the officers and detectives involved in this investigation along with Assistant Prosecutor Edward Shim who prosecuted this case.

Prosecutor Sutherland continues to urge the citizens of Cape May County to report information regarding any criminal activity within community and that this information can be reported anonymously through the Cape May County Sheriffs Tip Line at

cmcsheriff.net

and click on anonymous tip, or through the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-465-2800, or the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135.

Authorities Charge Delran Man with Possession of Child Pornography

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Delran Township Police Chief Alfonso A. Parente Jr. announced that a 63-year-old Delran Township man has been charged with possessing child

pornography.

Robert Tokarczyk, (photo)of the first block of Fox Chase Drive, was charged December 12 with Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Third Degree).

The investigation began earlier this year after the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit received information regarding Tokarczyk’s online activities from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The investigation revealed that Tokarczyk was utilizing a search engine to locate and download child pornography. Multiple electronic devices were seized during the execution of a search warrant at his residence. An examination of the devices by detectives from the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit revealed approximately 600 images of child pornography and child erotica.

Tokarczyk surrendered himself at the Prosecutor’s Office in Mount Holly. The case will now be prepared for presentation to a Burlington County Grand Jury for possible indictment. Tokarczyk will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Remy.

The investigation was conducted by the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit, with assistance from United States Homeland Security Investigations – Cherry Hill Office and the Delran Township Police Department. The lead investigator is BCPO Detective Jennifer Appelmann.

The Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit is a member of the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the New Jersey State Police Cyber Terrorism Task Force.

All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

52 Police Officers Join Camden County Police Dept.

(Camden City, NJ) – Fifty-two new police officers joined the proud men and women of the Camden County Police Department this afternoon. After the swearing-in ceremony officers were assigned to the police administration building for additional agency training.

Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli executed the swearing-in with the police officers at Camden County College’s Camden campus and talked about their new careers.

“Many of these officers will be deployed to the streets of Camden to become part of a nationally recognized model of policing that is increasing services and safety for the region while stabilizing the city,” said Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. “Our number one priority is to keep the residents of Camden County safe. These new police officers will make a tremendous impact in our County Seat, and by doing so are making Camden County a safer place to live for all residents.”

Attorney General, DEP Commissioner Announce the Filing of Two New NRD Lawsuits

The State Filed Eight NRD Lawsuits in 2019, Twice the Number Filed in 2018

Handy & Harman Complaint

Sherwin-Williams Complaint

NRD Sites Poster

NRD Fact Sheet

TRENTON –

Continuing to hold New Jersey’s polluters accountable, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe today announced the filing of two new Natural Resource Damage (NRD) lawsuits, one against The Sherwin Williams Company and the other against Handy & Harman Electronic Materials Corp.

The complaint against Sherwin Williams arises out of the company’s operations at sites in Gibbsboro, Voorhees Township and Lindenwold in Camden County. The State alleges that Sherwin Williams manufactured oil-based paints, lacquers and varnishes, and in the process discharged industrial wastes into the ground, into nearby Hilliards Creek and into other surrounding creeks and lakes.

The complaint against Handy & Harman arises out of its operations of an etching and surfacing facility in Montvale, Bergen County in the 1980s. During Handy & Harman’s ownership, the complaint alleges, hazardous substances – including the chemical TCE (trichloroethylene) – were discharged on the property, resulting in the contamination of groundwater and the closure of nearby drinking water wells.

Today’s NRD lawsuits mark another step in Attorney General Grewal and Commissioner McCabe’s efforts to revitalize New Jersey’s environmental enforcement program. After eight years in which the State did not file any new NRD actions, the State has now filed 12 NRD actions in two years. In 2019 alone, the State filed eight such actions, including the two filed today.

“As Attorney General, I have been committed to holding polluters accountable for the legacy of contamination they left in our state,” said Attorney General Grewal. “Too many companies have treated the public’s natural resources like private dumping grounds, despite the health risks to our residents and the harms to our environment. That is why we’ve spent the past two years making polluters pay for the damage they caused, efforts that continue with today’s lawsuits. I am proud of the twelve natural resource damage actions that we filed in just two years, and I know that we are only getting started.”

“Today’s two lawsuits continue DEP’s unwavering commitment to go beyond the cleanup of contaminated sites to requiring the restoration or compensation for the damage to our precious natural resources,” said DEP Commissioner McCabe. “Enforcing our state’s laws against past abuses helps put us on track toward a cleaner, healthier future for all New Jerseyans.”

Sherwin Williams

The Sherwin Williams Company for decades operated a paint manufacturing plant and conducted related operations at multiple sites across Gibbsboro, Voorhees Township and Lindenwold. From the mid-1800s until the 1970s, Sherwin Williams and its predecessors manufactured a variety of paint products, including dry colorants, lacquers, varnishes, resins and both oil-based and water-based paints. As part of its operations, the company used and stored thousands of gallons of hazardous materials such as lead oxide, zinc oxide, lead chromate, and sulfuric acid.

According to today’s lawsuit, Sherwin Williams for many years discharged a “substantial amount of hazardous substances and industrial chemicals” into the ground and surface water. According to the complaint, the contaminants discharged include lead, arsenic and other heavy metals, as well as a variety of potentially harmful chemical compounds and waste paints. At one point in the plant’s history, the complaint notes, locals in and around Gibbsboro, Voorhees and Lindenwold rechristened Hilliards Creek as “Rainbow Creek,” because the water would take on different colors “depending on the color of the paint that Sherwin Williams was manufacturing and/or disposing of on a given day.”

The complaint alleges that Sherwin Williams spent decades knowingly contaminating the environment, and consistently “ignored orders” from DEP to address the pollution it had created. The complaint also asserts that the company “repeatedly issued misleading or inaccurate statements … to downplay its responsibility for the contamination.”

Given the company’s noncompliance with DEP orders, the complaint continues, DEP was forced to refer the sites over to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which placed two of the sites on the National Priorities List as Superfund sites decades ago. The EPA, working with DEP, is overseeing that remediation. DEP is now seeking damages for that prior pollution. The State’s seven-count complaint alleges violations of New Jersey’s Spill Act, Water Pollution Control Act, and Solid Waste Management Act, as well as common law claims involving public nuisance, trespass and negligence. As part of this filing, the State is seeking punitive damages.

Handy & Harman

From 1970 until 1986, Handy & Harman Electronic Materials Corp. and its predecessor conducted metal etching and surfacing operations at a three-acre property located at 20 Craig Road in Montvale, Bergen County. Operations included the cleaning of electrical components through a degreasing process that relied on the solvent TCE.

According to the complaint, TCE was stored in a pair of 500-gallon, above-ground storage tanks located behind the facility, with waste TCE stored in drums located throughout the property.

According to the lawsuit, “numerous” discharges of TCE occurred both inside and outside the plant during its operating years. As a result of the contamination, several drinking water wells operated by the Borough of Park Ridge were impacted, which led to these drinking wells’ closure decades ago.

In December 1986, Handy & Harman entered into an Administrative Consent Order with DEP requiring that the company investigate and remediate environmental contamination at the site. Since then, investigation and remediation activities have taken place both on the property and at impacted drinking water wells surrounding the property.

Through today’s action, DEP seeks to recover damages for the prior injuries to natural resources, as well as for the cleanup and removal costs that have been incurred by the State in the past and that are likely to be incurred going forward.

The six-count complaint alleges violations of the Spill Act, Water Pollution Control Act, and Solid Waste Management Act, and common law claims involving public nuisance, trespass and negligence. (The complaint names other defendants as well, including Steel Partners Holdings, which acquired all outstanding shares of Handy & Harman.)

Environmental Enforcement Program

Under the leadership of Attorney General Grewal and Commissioner McCabe, the State has significantly strengthened its environmental enforcement program. In particular:

The State filed 12 NRD lawsuits in the past two years, including its first such actions in a decade, and including eight in 2019 alone. The cases involved:

Exxon-Mobil, for pollution at its Lail facility in Gloucester County

The manufacturers and distributors of a toxic family of chemicals known as “PFAS” (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances); and

E.I. DuPont de Nemours, including for pollution in Pompton Lakes and at its Chambers Works site.

Filed fourteen environmental justice lawsuits, encompassing a range of urban and rural communities across New Jersey, in December 2018 and November 2019.

Filed other enforcement actions against polluters, including those responsible for:

A solid waste dump in Vernon Township, Sussex County (Feb. 2019);

A solid waste dump in Plumsted Township, Ocean County (Aug. 2019); and

Odor pollution in the Ironbound section of Newark (Sept. 2019).

Filed lawsuits against the federal government to:

Successfully prevent offshore drilling off the New Jersey coast;

Prevent the Trump Administration from rolling back critical federal rules that address climate change, clean air, and clean water; and

Ensure that the federal government takes steps required by law to reduce the ozone pollution entering New Jersey.

U.S. House members from Pennsylvania explain impeachment votes

By Dave Lemery |

The Center Square

Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., speaks Dec. 18, 2019, as the House of Representatives debates the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington. House Television via AP

As the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump, Pennsylvania\’s delegation stuck to party lines when casting their individual votes.

With the 18-member delegation split evenly between the two political parties, the state\’s nine Democrats voted in favor of the articles of impeachment and the nine Republicans voted against.

In both comments from the floor of the House and on social media, a number of lawmakers made their arguments justifying their decisions.

“It\’s with profound sadness that I stand here today in support of these articles of impeachment,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat, said during the debate. “President Trump\’s behavior is exactly what our founders feared most. They knew that with the awesome power of the presidency came the risk of a president abusing that power for personal gain. They were particularly concerned about an executive who became entangled with foreign governments, corrupted our elections, or sought to avoid consequences for his own misconduct in office.”

While Scanlon argued that the president’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was evidence of a “high crime” as defined in the U.S. Constitution, Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican, saw exactly the opposite.

“Abuse of power? Not according to the Ukraine,” Meuser said during his floor remarks. “President Zelensky confirmed many times that there was no quid pro quo, no action taken, and significant military aid was delivered without anything in return. Of course, his words have been conveniently dismissed.”

To Meuser, the impeachment effort marked a concerted effort by the Democratic Party to overturn the will of the voters at a time when Trump’s policies are bearing fruit.

“Our communities are benefiting greatly from President Trump\’s agenda – a booming economy, secure border, better trade deals, and a stronger military,” he said. “Unfortunately, inside the halls of Congress, Democrats\’ obsession with impeachment is all-consuming.”

Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat, insisted that the president’s crimes were so self-evident that there was no need to lay out a case.

“Ultimately, the matter before us today is not a question of fact, for the evidence is undisputed,” he said during House debate. “Nor is it a question of law, as the Constitution is clear. The heart of the matter is this: Will members of this House have the courage to choose fidelity to the Constitution over loyalty to their political party?”

Republican Guy Reschenthaler said the entire impeachment process was more about the 2020 election than anything that had taken place during the president’s term.

published here with permission of The Center Square

Murder Suspect John Jacobs of Millville Apprehended

John Jacobs (image courtesy of Salem Jail)

WOODBURY, NJ (Dec. 21, 2019)–Gloucester County Prosecutor Charles Fiore is pleased to announce the expedient arrest on December 20, 2019 of John Jacobs (DOB: 10/21/1992) of Millville, N.J.

Jacobs is charged with First Degree Murder, Arson, Hindering Apprehension, and Obstruction of Justice, in connection with the Murder of Sahlena Blackwell-Jacobs.

On Thursday December 19

, 2019, at approximately 3:30 pm, the Monroe Township Police Department was dispatched to 1920 South Black Horse Pike, Williamstown, NJ for the report of a 2002 Black Chevy Trail Blazer, registered to John Jacobs, which displayed evidence of recent fire damage. This vehicle was sought in connection with the suspected murder of

Blackwell-Jacobs.

The Monroe Township Police Department, in conjunction with the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office arrived at the scene and confirmed that Blackwell-Jacobs was deceased in the vehicle.

An autopsy conducted by Gloucester County Medical Examiner, Dr. Gerald Feigin, determined that the cause of death for Ms. Blackwell-Jacobs was “blunt neck trauma” and he ruled the manner of death as a “homicide.”

An exhaustive and relentless investigation was conducted into the initial disappearance and subsequent murder of Blackwell-Jacobs, leading to the prompt identification of Jacobs and the filing of the noted charges.

Multiple law enforcement agencies contributed to the investigation and efforts to apprehend Jacobs, culminating with Jacobs’ arrest by the Millville City Police Department during the evening of December 20, 2019. Efforts to locate and arrest Jacobs over several days spanned multiple jurisdictions within Gloucester, Camden, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties.

“Prosecutor Fiore extends his heartfelt appreciation to the Millville City Police Department, Atlantic and Cumberland County Prosecutors’ Offices, New Jersey State Police, US Marshal’s Regional Fugitive Task Force, the FBI, NJ Transit Police Department, and the Atlantic City, Vineland City, Franklin Township, Woodbury City and Gloucester Township Police Departments. These local/county/state/federal partners, teaming with the GCPO and Monroe Township Police Department, ensured a seamless investigation which smoothly transitioned and maintained a rapid pace across geographical and jurisdictional boundaries. This was an exemplary effort grounded in the tenacity and commitment of a wide array of professional law enforcement officers who share a common goal to serve and protect their fellow citizens. I am also extremely proud of the lead investigators in this case, Detective Brian Lloyd of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office and Detective Kevin Bielski of the Monroe Township Police Department.”

Subsequent to his arrest, Jacobs was transported to the GCPO for processing, and then lodged in the Salem County Jail pending a Detention Hearing.

Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of his rights as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State Law.