Category: LegacyImport2

Jury Convicts Shane Whipple of Murdering his Aunt

Camden City, NJ–On December 10, 2019, after a week of trial, a jury deliberated for less than 90 minutes and convicted Shane Whipple, 29, of Murder, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and

Possession of a Weapon with an Unlawful Purpose in the murder of his aunt, Jennifer Whipple.  Ms. Whipple was killed in her Winslow Township apartment on January 26, 2018.  Her body was discovered on January 27, 2018, after out of state family members called the Winslow Township Police Department and requested a well-being check.  Shane Whipple faces life in prison when he is sentenced on February 7, 2020.

Released Wednesday, December 11, 2019.

Environmental Bills Up in Committee Thursday

The following environmental bills will be up in the Assembly Appropriations Committee tomorrow, December 12th.

A4267 (McKeon): concerns the regulations of solid waste, hazardous waste, and soil and debris recycling industries. This bill amends the existing law to expand the requirements for

background checks to a broader range of persons involved in the solid waste industry, such as salespersons, consultants, and brokers.

“This bill is important because it addresses New Jersey’s ongoing problems with illegal dumping of contaminated materials. The Special Commission of Investigation’s first “Dirty Dirt” report in 2016 exposed the rampant problem of soil brokers and dirty dirt. Since that report the illegal dumping is still happening, risking the environment and public health. That’s because there hasn’t been any action by DEP and the Legislature to stop it. The industry has ties to the mob, and there are serious pollution and health impacts,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “These unscrupulous dirt brokers are dumping contaminated soil all over the environment. There are loopholes in the law that gives them less scrutiny that need to be closed.”

In June, the Special Commission of Investigation released their latest “Dirty Dirt” report detailing illegal dumping in Marlboro. SCI reported that New Jersey currently “lacks the authority to properly oversee elements of its recycling program”. Illegal dumping in New Jersey has the potential to impact the environment but also cause public health problems, like in Kearny where New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority illegally dumped liquid sewage sludge.

“This bill is an important step forward; however, we need to go further. New Jersey needs tighter regulations and restrictions on how our waste is handled. We have a long history of contaminated materials coming into our state, in part because DEP chooses not to regulate these chemicals. DEP needs to set and enforce standards for toxic materials to prevent any more possible dumping,” said Jeff Tittel. “The Assembly needs to act quickly and get this bill to the governor’s desk before the end of the year.”

A5854 (Pintor Marin): Allows municipalities to adopt an ordinance permitting lead service line replacements in residential properties with at least 24-hour notice to residents.

“This legislation will help us replace lead service lines. This legislation is needed because lead in drinking water has become an ongoing issue in New Jersey. In order to find out if people are being exposed to lead or to get rid of existing lead service lines, you need to have access to the properties. Many times, landlords or property owners will not allow access to municipalities to check for lead. Our water is at risk and we need to be able to replace old lead pipes. This legislation will help municipalities protect residents from being exposed to lead in their water,” said Jeff Tittel.

A5518 (Benson): establishes “Alternative Fuel Vehicle Transportation Financing Commission” to examine the manner in which alternative fuel vehicles may be taxed to contribute to the cost of maintaining State transportation system.

“We oppose this legislation. This legislation would undercut the progress of any movement in accelerating EV use. The committee would investigate studies to put fees on electric vehicles even before we get any on the road. Right now, New Jersey only has about 25,000 electric vehicles on the road, it is too premature to be taxing these vehicles,” said Jeff Tittel. “We need to encourage EV use to get to the state’s goal of 330,000 EVs by 2025. In order to find funding for road improvements and mass transit projects, we should be putting fees on gas guzzlers and massive dino SUV’s instead.”

A5583 (Pinkin): Prohibits sale, lease, rent or installation of certain equipment or products containing hydrofluorocarbons or other greenhouse gases.

“This bill is a step in the right direction when it comes to reducing GHG’s from the products we use every day. Hydrofluorocarbons represent around 1% of total greenhouse gases but their impact on global warming can be hundreds to thousands of times greater than that of carbon dioxide. They can be found in cooling products like refrigerators, air conditioning for our homes and cars, aerosols, and more,” said Jeff Tittel. “It is important that we prohibit and phase out all products containing HCF’s and greenhouse gases so that we can mitigate our impact on global warming.”

A6014 (Vainieri Huttle/Pinkin): Appropriates $500,000 to establish NJ Climate Change Resource Center at Rutgers University.

“Establishing a Climate Change Resource Center is a good step forward when it comes to being prepared and stronger than the next storm, but $500,000 is not enough money to get the job done. Rutgers is spending $4 million a year on a new football coach, but we can only spend $500,000 for climate change research. They need to get their priorities straight. This is a fumble when it comes to climate change. A recent study found that much of New Jersey, including inland counties, are more vulnerable to climate impacts now than before Sandy. We must start taking real actions to fight climate change now. We are in a climate crisis, and New Jersey is the only state on the east coast that does not have any kind of sea level rise climate adaptation plan,” said Jeff Tittel. “This Resource Center will help use the latest science to put climate and sea level rise in DEP rules and state legislation, but more money needs to go toward this center for it to be effective.”

A5970 (Lopez): Amends list of environmental infrastructure projects approved for long-term funding for FY2020 to include new projects, remove certain projects, and modify estimated loan amounts for certain projects.

A5971 (Mukherji): Authorizes NJ Infrastructure Bank to expend additional sums to make loans for environmental projects for FY2020.

“We need to step it up when it comes to funding critical environmental programs for New Jersey.  We have major problems with lead including $8.2 billion worth of pipes that need to be fixed, $4.6 billion for getting lead out of our water and a $6 billion combined sewer overflow fix. Overall, we need at least $46 billion to fix New Jersey’s environmental problems. We also need to tie fixing our infrastructure to energy efficiency and renewable energy as well as green building including blue and green roofs to reduce flooding. If we don’t consider climate change, we could end up wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer money,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

Two Camden City Men Charged with Murder

CAMDEN CITY NJ (Dec. 11, 2019)–Luis Colon-Molina, 36, and Wilfredo Boulones-Cruz, 49, both from Camden, were each charged with Felony Murder, Murder, and Armed Robbery on December 9, 2019, according to Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer and Camden Police Chief Joseph Wysocki.

At approximately 12:12 p.m. on December 2, 2019, Camden County Police responded to reports of an unconscious female in the park near the 1600 block of Baird Boulevard. When officers arrived, they located the victim, Hayley Steinberg, 31, of Medford, deceased at the scene.

Colon-Molina and Boulones-Cruz were apprehended by the Delaware River Port Authority on December 2, 2019, after a brief foot pursuit. Both men were remanded to the Camden County Jail pending a pretrial detention hearing.

All persons charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Released Tuesday, December 10, 2019

NJBIA VP Mike Wallace Selected as 2020 Lead NJ Fellow

NJBIA Vice President Michael Wallace has been chosen as a 2020 Lead New Jersey Fellow, joining a select group of business, government and nonprofit leaders who will spend the next 12 months exploring major public policy issues facing New Jersey and identifying solutions.

Lead New Jersey

Fellows, who are already leaders in their companies and communities, hone their leadership skills by studying the issues that have the greatest impact on New Jersey residents\’ lives and then work with other talented leaders to shape improvements.

\”NJBIA is proud to have Mike selected to be part of Lead New Jersey\’s Class of 2020,\” said NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka, Esq. \”Mike\’s experience leading NJBIA\’s advocacy efforts on labor, workforce development, manufacturing, apprenticeships and job training policies makes him an ideal candidate for Lead New Jersey\’s program.\”

A resident of Sewell in Gloucester County, Wallace joined NJBIA in 2015, after having worked as a legislative aide to state Senator Fred Madden (D-4). A graduate of the University of Delaware, Wallace also previously worked as an aide to former Camden Mayor Dana Redd and Gov. Jon Corzine.

Upon completion of the program, Wallace will be part of a distinguished alumni comprised of more than 1,600 Lead New Jersey fellows who have graduated over the past 34 years, including NJBIA\’s Chief Government Affairs Officer Chrissy Buteas (2008) and Chief Business Relations Officer Wayne Staub, a member of the Class of 2019 honored on Dec. 5 at the Princeton Marriott at Forrestal.

Lead New Jersey educates, empowers and engages talented leaders to create systemic change around New Jersey\’s most challenging issues. Going into its 34th year, LNJ boasts an alumni base of more than 1,600 Fellows, including corporate and nonprofit executives and elected and appointed government officials. For more information, go to

www.leadnj.org

.

Bordentown City Man Sentenced for Distributing Child Pornography Online

TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a Burlington County man who had hundreds of items of child pornography on his laptop computer was sentenced to prison today for distributing child pornography online through a peer-to-peer network.

Michael D. Gordon, 34, of Bordentown City, N.J., was sentenced to five years in state prison, including 2 ½ years of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge James J. Morley in Burlington County. Gordon pleaded guilty on July 17, 2019 to a second-degree charge of distribution of child pornography. He will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life. In pleading guilty, Gordon admitted that he knowingly used file-sharing software to make multiple items of child pornography readily available for any other user to download from a “shared folder” on his computer.

Deputy Attorney General Supriya Prasad prosecuted Gordon and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau. Gordon was arrested in April 2019 as the result of an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice, conducted with assistance from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Bordentown City Police Department.

A detective of the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau was monitoring an online file-sharing network that is popular with child pornography offenders when he identified a computer address that was sharing child pornography. On multiple occasions, the detective successfully downloaded hundreds of items of child pornography being shared from that IP address, which was traced to Gordon’s home in Bordentown City. On April 3, 2019, detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice, assisted by agents of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and officers of the Bordentown City Police Department, executed a search warrant at Gordon’s home, arresting him and seizing his computer devices. The devices were brought to the Division of Criminal Justice Forensics Laboratory, where a forensic examination of his laptop computer revealed over 600 images and videos of child pornography.

“By viewing and redistributing child pornography, offenders like Gordon participate in the cruel sexual exploitation of innocent children— children whose images can never be erased from the internet,” said Attorney General Grewal. “Protecting children is our highest priority, and we will continue to collaborate across all levels of law enforcement to send these offenders to prison.”

“We want offenders who download and share child pornography to know that they may face longer prison sentences based on the extent of their collections and their distribution activities,” said Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice. “New Jersey has tough child pornography laws, and we will continue to make strong use of them as we investigate and prosecute these offenders.”

Attorney General Grewal commended Deputy Attorney General Prasad and the detectives who conducted the investigation for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Julia Glass. AG Grewal also thanked U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Bordentown City Police Department for their valuable assistance.

Attorney General Grewal and Director Allende urged anyone with information about the distribution of child pornography on the internet – or about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children – to contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at

888-648-6007

.

9 Ways Going to Church Can Benefit Your Life

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(Dec. 11, 2019)–While church attendance seems to be declining, and a mental health crisis is rising, many people may not realize the many benefits of attending church.

Almost 20% of Americans

report having no religious affiliation in 2018. This is more than double the 8% who had no preference just a decade earlier.

Attending church has several benefits that may have you reconsidering your connection with a higher power. Read on to find out what they are.

1. Mental Health Benefits of Attending Church

This world is a stressful and often confusing place. Depression, anxiety, and stress are challenges facing many as they struggle through life. It often leaves people wondering their place in the universe and what the purpose of their life is.

Studies show that

religion and spirituality can benefit

mental and physical health, and relieve depression, anxiety, and stress by providing an answer to many of those questions about life.

2. Physical Health Benefits

When you\’re less stressed and more content in life (which is often associated with spiritual connections), your physical health also improves.

You can actually lower your blood pressure, reduce your risk of heart attack or stroke, and even reduce your risk of dementia.

Religious affiliation also has some guidelines and spiritual rules that lead to healthier life choices; for example, some religions forbid addictive substances. Some promote no or little meat intake, alcohol, or drugs. These can all lead to a healthier life overall.

Not only does church reduce stress, but it may also

help you live longer

. That\’s right—a study of middle-aged adults showed that there was a link between attending church and mortality that goes above and beyond just reducing stress.

3. Social Connections

Another benefit of church attendance can be the social connections you make with other parishioners. The individuals you meet may become your friends and offer emotional support in your life.

Feeling connected to a community or individuals with similar beliefs and interests is a critical part of actualization and joy in life. The activities, community, and sense of belonging in a church can provide that much-needed

sense of belonging

.

4. Guidance and Direction

No matter who you are or what your life is like, there are roadblocks, challenges, and tragedies to deal with at some point. Religion and spirituality can help give an individual guidance and direction, as well as comfort.

Many spiritual individuals have thought about and determined their priorities in life because their religion gives them a place to start and a litmus test for choices.

Someone without religion or spirituality may make very different decisions without a moral place to start setting their personal boundaries. While there are millions of good people making good choices without religion, having one can make it easier to make kinder and less selfish choices in your life.

There is no quandary because your religion sets what is right and wrong in your life. While you still have the ultimate choice, you have a personal standard to begin making that choice from.

5. Develop Talents

Attending church can often create opportunities to grow and develop talents a person otherwise would never use.

Many of the top celebrity singers developed their voices and talents while

singing in church

from the time they were young. Justin Timberlake, Aretha Franklin, John Legend, and many more have attributed their talent and love for music to their church attendance.

Some churches have their congregation participate with service projects, leadership opportunities, speaking engagements, and musical performances.

6. A Sense of Purpose

Spirituality often gives individuals

a sense of purpose

in their lives. This can be from the belief of a higher power and from service or good deeds they perform as a result of their religious belief that Christlike service and fellowship are the true purposes of life.

Learn more

about how church attendance can help provide a sense of purpose.

7. Resilience

Spirituality and religion can help a person become more resilient when facing the most painful life experiences. A belief in the afterlife can make the death of a loved one more bearable.

Faith can often help individuals get through a health or financial crisis with more optimism and hope. There\’s a tendency to look for and find a lesson in the challenges of life, which can help reduce distress in times of crisis or tragedy.

8. Confidence and a Sense of Worth

Spirituality not only gives you a sense of purpose, but it can also give you a sense of empowerment and greater self-confidence. The belief that you come from a higher power and were created with a purpose can lead you to set higher goals.

For many, the belief that they\’re a child of God gives them the courage or faith to try things they\’d never believe were possible otherwise.

Priorities and goals may be easier to determine and more centered on fulfilling one\’s potential rather than obtaining worldly power or possessions. The difference in priorities and focus can bring a sense of peace and contentment in life that allows growth in personal areas, rather than always seeking approval from people.

9. A More Compassionate and Optimistic View

Those who have a strong spiritual base will often be more compassionate and optimistic in their view of life and the world. Someone who\’s truly trying to live a more Christlike life will have increased empathy and compassion for their fellow man and see the world with a more optimistic and loving view.

They\’ll often be the first to offer a helping hand and tend to be more willing to serve and help because of a sense of duty to another and to their maker.

Attending Church Can Make Every Day Better

Attending church doesn\’t just have benefits on Sundays. It can have positive effects and benefits in every aspect of your life if you make a commitment and find a community with spiritual beliefs you feel connected to.

Don\’t forget to bookmark our website for easy access to the latest news, tips, and articles.

Seven Individuals Charged in Interstate Scheme

to Steal More Than $235,000 from Three Insurance Annuity Policies

TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor today announced charges against seven individuals in an interstate scheme to steal more than

$235,000 from three insurance annuity policies.

An Ohio resident and three New Jersey residents were charged with conspiracy and theft by deception in the alleged scheme to steal money from three annuity policies issued by Lincoln Financial Group. Three others were charged with receiving stolen property in the thefts that occurred between December 2015 and September 2016.

According to documents filed in the case, the thefts occurred when Lincoln Financial Group received death claims benefit withdrawal applications from individuals purporting to be the beneficiaries of the annuity policies.

Charged in a 16-count indictment handed up by a state Grand Jury on November 14, 2019 were:

Gaetanina Nicole Zarbo, 34, of New Albany, Ohio, who was charged with three counts of second-degree conspiracy, three counts of second-degree theft by deception, and two counts of third-degree receiving stolen property.

Zuberu Sumaila, 27, of Newark, who was charged with second-degree conspiracy, second-degree theft by deception, and three counts of third-degree receiving stolen property.

Emmanuel Oppong-Dabankah, 30, of North Brunswick, who was charged with second-degree conspiracy, second degree theft by deception, and two counts of third-degree receiving stolen property.

Kojo Kumah Mensah, 27, of Newark, who was charged with second-degree conspiracy and second-degree theft by deception.

Cecilia Fynn (a.k.a. Cecilia Lemaire), 26, of Somerset, who was charged with third-degree receiving stolen property.

Tashae N. McCray, 23, of Rahway, who was charged with third-degree receiving stolen property.

Latika Busby, 37, of Columbus, Ohio, who was charged with third-degree receiving stolen property.

Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $150,000; third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $15,000.

The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Menjivar presented the case to the Grand Jury. Detective Shawn McDonald coordinated the investigation.

Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Thompson noted that some important cases have started with anonymous tips. People who are concerned about insurance cheating and have information about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline at

1-877-55-FRAUD

, or visiting the Web site at

www.njinsurancefraud.org

. State regulations permit a reward to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to a conviction for insurance fraud.

Kenneth Watts of Philly Headed to Prison

for Drug Conspiracy

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Philadelphia, Pa. has been sentenced in federal court in Johnstown to 10 years (120 months) in prison and three years’ supervised release on his conviction of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Kenneth Watts, 35.

According to information presented to the court, from March 6, 2018, through April 2, 2018, Watts and a co-defendant conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine base, heroin, and fentanyl.

Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Mr. Brady commended the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cambria County Drug Task Force for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Watts.

ASTRO Issues New Clinical Guideline on Radiation Therapy

for Basal and Squamous Cell Skin Cancers

Newswise — ARLINGTON, Va., December 10, 2019 — A new clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides recommendations on the use of radiation therapy to treat patients

diagnosed with the most common types of skin cancers. The guideline details when radiation treatments are appropriate as stand-alone therapy or following surgery for basal and cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (BCC, cSCC), and it suggests dosing and fractionation for these treatments. The

executive summary

and

full-text version

of ASTRO\’s first guideline for skin cancer are published online in

Practical Radiation Oncology

.

Skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the United States, with more than 5 million cases diagnosed each year. More than 95% of these diagnoses are BCC or cSCC, which, in contrast to melanomas, respond well to radiation therapy if treated promptly and properly. Although surgery to remove the lesion is considered the primary approach for definitive/curative treatment of these non-melanoma skin cancers, radiation therapy can play an integral role in both the curative and post-operative settings.

ASTRO developed the new guideline to provide clarity about treatment options. \”There is significant variation in practice about when and how radiation should be used for non-melanoma skin cancers, largely because few randomized studies have compared modern treatment options head-to-head,\” explained Phillip Devlin, MD, FASTRO, chair of the guideline task force and a radiation oncologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

\”For this guideline, we drew on the consensus of a multidisciplinary group of leading experts, as well as a systematic review of the evidence, to help physicians understand when radiation is most likely to benefit their patients and to encourage informed discussion about treatment options,\” added Anna Likhacheva, MD, MPH, vice chair of the guideline task force and a radiation oncologist with Sutter Medical Group in Sacramento.

Recommendations for Radiation Therapy for BCC and cSCC

The guideline first defines appropriate indications for radiation therapy (1) as definitive/curative treatment for BCC and cSCC, (2) as adjuvant treatment following surgery and (3) as definitive or adjuvant treatment for disease that has spread to a patient\’s regional lymph nodes. Recommendations are as follows:

In the

definitive/curative setting

, radiation is strongly recommended for patients with BCC or cSCC who cannot undergo or decline surgical resection. It is conditionally recommended for patients with BCC or cSCC located in anatomically sensitive areas such as the nose or lips, where surgery could compromise function or cosmetic outcomes. Definitive radiation therapy is discouraged, however, for patients with genetic conditions that predispose them to be more sensitive to radiation.

In the

adjuvant/post-operative setting

, radiation following surgery is recommended for patients at high risk of cancer recurrence, including a strong recommendation when there is evidence that BCC or cSCC has spread to a patient\’s nerves. Post-operative radiation is also recommended for patients at high risk of recurrence following surgical resection, including strong recommendations for high-risk patients with cSCC and conditional recommendations for high-risk patients with the relatively less aggressive BCC. Recommendations also outline prognostic features that indicate which patients are at greater risk for recurrence and spread.

For patients with BCC or cSCC that has

spread to regional lymph nodes

, surgical removal of the affected lymph nodes followed by radiation is strongly recommended for both BCC and cSCC, although not for patients with one small involved lymph node without extracapsular spread. The guideline also strongly recommends definitive radiation for patients with regional cSCC spread who cannot undergo surgery.

Recommendations address technical aspects of radiation therapy, suggest dosing and fractionation schedules and include a brief discussion of the different types of radiation delivery methods. The task force concluded that the appropriate use of any of the major radiation modalities results in similar cancer control and cosmetic outcomes. The guideline also considers the use of drug therapies such as chemotherapy, biologic and immunotherapy agents in combination with radiation.

About the Guideline

The guideline was based on a systematic literature review which produced more than 1,500 articles, of which 143 (published from May 1988 through June 2018) were then carefully evaluated. The task force included a multidisciplinary team of radiation, medical and surgical oncologists, a radiation oncology resident, medical physicist, dermatologist and dermatopathologists. The guideline was developed in collaboration with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO), who provided representatives and peer reviewers.

ASTRO\’s clinical guidelines are intended as tools to promote appropriately individualized, shared decision-making between physicians and patients. None should be construed as strict or superseding the appropriately informed and considered judgments of individual physicians and patients.

“Definitive and Postoperative Radiation Therapy for Basal and Squamous Cell Cancers of the Skin: An ASTRO Clinical Practice Guideline” is available as a free access article. To interview the task force chairs or outside experts in skin cancer, contact ASTRO’s media relations team at

press@astro.org

or 703-286-1600.

\”Shadow\” A New Resource to Help Catch Horse Racing Cheaters

TRENTON –

Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the New Jersey Racing Commission have deployed a new asset in the effort to prevent cheating in the horse racing industry – a specially-trained scent-sniffing dog named Shadow.

A two-year-old black Labrador, Shadow is New Jersey’s first-ever K-9 horse racing investigator, and is already proving to be a valuable tool in deterring licensees who might seek a competitive or wagering advantage by drugging race horses.

The Racing Commission has put Shadow on regular patrol at New Jersey racetracks, including Monmouth Park, Freehold Raceway, and the New Meadowlands Racetrack. Earlier this year, Shadow made his first find, detecting the presence of a prohibited substance.

“A big part of the job for any regulatory and enforcement agency is to stay one step ahead of those who would seek to profit by breaking our laws and rules,” said Attorney General Grewal. “Shadow is an incredible asset in that respect, because cheaters in horse racing can’t cheat without using prohibited substances, and he is specifically trained to sniff them out. Shadow is helping not only to protect horses, but to preserve the integrity of the horse racing industry throughout our state.”

Racing Commission Executive Director Judith A. Nason credits Shadow with having “vastly increased the Racing Commission’s investigatory ability,” and with helping to send a strong cautionary message to would-be horse dopers.

“One very important purpose of Shadow is to deter trainers or owners from even the thought of giving a prohibited substance to a horse,” said Nason.

“We believe Shadow will prove to be an efficient, cost-effective tool in catching and penalizing licensees who cheat,” Nason said. “The Racing Commission already has four human investigators. That’s eight boots on the ground. By adding Shadow, we now have 12 boots on the ground – although four of them are paws.”

Earlier this year, Attorney General Grewal challenged the leadership of every division and commission within the Department of Law and Public Safety to look for ways to better serve the public by identifying new ways to collaborate with each other.

As part of that process, the Racing Commission identified the need for adding a trained, scent-sniffing dog that could detect the presence of substances unique to horse racing that cannot lawfully be possessed by anyone but a licensed veterinarian.

The New Jersey State Police partnered with the Racing Commission in this effort and through its Canine Academy found a two-year-old black Labrador retriever for the Racing Commission and, following a Racing Commission naming contest, the dog became officially known as “Shadow.”

With Investigator Joseph Sczerbowicz manning the leash, Shadow now spends Monday through Thursday patrolling racetracks and licensed farms to ferret out banned chemicals that might be concealed in stalls or barns – sometimes in places where a routine inspection might not uncover them, such as locked drawers, toolboxes or even piles of hay. And on race days – Fridays and Saturdays – Shadow is deployed at New Jersey’s thoroughbred and Standardbred racetracks.

For investigative reasons, Executive Director Nason will not disclose details concerning what substances Shadow is able to detect. However, she confirms that he is trained to find a host of banned chemicals known to be used by cheaters, as well as related paraphernalia such as syringes and hypodermic needles.

“The people hiding drugs and needles have always had an intrinsic advantage, because it’s easier to conceal these things than to locate them,” said Nason. “But Shadow could turn out to be a true game-changer. Not only can he search a lot of territory very quickly, he can also detect banned substances in hiding places where we humans might not find them.”

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