Category: NORTH JERSEY

U.S. Democratic Primary Congressional Candidate John Flora (NJ-10) Says Media Attacks are Unfair

January 3, 2020,

OPEN LETTER FROM US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE JOHN FLORA (NJ-10)

“Dear Reader:

The media has put a spin on my words and has framed me as an anti-Semite. That is simply not true. My name is John Flora. I am a teacher and resident of Jersey City.

I hear what goes on and I see what goes on. I also know about distractions to progress.

This allegation and gas-lighting from a radio “personality” has distracted everyone from my words. I was not speaking against the Jewish community. I was speaking for them. I was also speaking for the Black community. I was speaking for the entire community. Why is that being framed as anti-Semitic?

I am being accused of supporting actions against Jews by someone who obviously doesn’t even know my life path. I already released a statement on the massacre that occurred in my neighborhood, attended interfaith vigils, visited the shooting site, and was on the news discussing the tragic events as a concerned parent. But 101.5 radio personality Judi Franco must have missed all of that.

I never condoned hateful words at an inappropriate time. I also do not agree with the actions taken by the media to twist my press release and say I was holding a vigil for the accused. My message was that we still need to talk as a city, as a nation. The radio station responded by email stating “Our initial reporting mischaracterized what your news release said. We have corrected the body of the article”.

The discovery of this radio host’s op-ed of my alleged racism comes to a surprise to my friends and family who know me. My record of helping my environment and teaching children of all faiths and backgrounds is certainly not reflected in her opinion of me. I have done nothing but celebrate the diversity of Jersey City and will continue that work for NJ-10. I refuse to let a radio personality, especially one suspended from her job for referring to the Attorney General of New Jersey as “Turban Man”, to smear my reputation. She is simply lying to all of you about me.

To be very clear, there is a problem in Jersey City and elsewhere that is causing anti-Semitic feelings. I do not validate these feelings. I just know they still exist and need to be repaired. Everyone involved should be searching for more tolerance, not more division spurred by misleading headlines.

I am running as a progressive Democratic Primary Candidate in New Jersey’s 10

th

Congressional District. Our campaign is spreading a message of hope, tolerance, and love for all, and I will always demand that for my constituency. But I will not sit back and become someone taken down for sheer lies and mistruths.

In Solidarity,

John Flora

Senator Tom Kean Calls on Governor to End Attacks on Freelance Reporters & The Media

Local Publisher Set to Reduce Community Coverage After Being Fined by State for Using Independent Contractors

Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean (photo) called on the Murphy Administration to end its attacks on

independent contractors and the media after the Westfield Leader was fined for not classifying freelance reporters and photographers as employees.

“Many people choose to freelance for a variety of reasons, and those self-employed individuals make it possible for small media outlets like the Westfield Leader to offer comprehensive coverage of local government meetings, school sports, and community events,” said Kean. “Unfortunately, the Westfield Leader has been forced to end its freelance program completely after being fined by the Murphy Administration. I’d like for Governor Murphy to explain to the Leader’s many former contributors how his assault on the company that paid them has improved their situation or that of the community they proudly served. This is a clear example of how the Governor’s flawed labor policies will hurt New Jersey families and further erode a media industry that is already struggling to survive.”

According to the Westfield Leader

, it was forced to end its freelance program after the New Jersey Department of Labor fined the paper’s publisher going back to 2015 for not treating freelance reporters and photographers as employees.

Under the Governor’s direction, the State has fined a variety of businesses and services,

including Uber

, that have allowed freelancers and independent contractors the freedom to work when they want and the opportunity to earn extra income at their own pace.

Kean has been a vocal opponent

of efforts by Democrats in the Legislature to codify through

S-4204

the Murphy Administration’s treatment of independent contractors as employees under State law.

“Some people have a full-time job and want the opportunity to freelance to earn extra income to support their families, and others have caregiver responsibilities that prevent them from working traditional 9 to 5 jobs,” added Kean. “In 2020, we shouldn’t limit people’s ability to work based on some outdated 1950s mentality of what a job should be. Governor Murphy should stop denying the overtaxed people of New Jersey any opportunity to work.”

Former Jersey City Official Charged with Stealing JCETP Funds

NEWARK, N.J. – The former acting executive director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program (JCETP) has been charged with embezzling JCETP funds, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Sudhan M. Thomas, 44, (photo) of Jersey City, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with embezzling funds from an organization receiving federal funds. Thomas is expected to make his initial appearance on Jan. 9, 2020, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court.

According to the complaint:

Thomas served as JCETP’s acting executive director from January 2019 until his resignation in July 2019. JCETP is a nonprofit organization that operated to assist Jersey City residents to prepare for and enter the work force. JCETP received substantial amounts of its funding from federal grants from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Using his access to JCETP funds and control of JCETP’s bank accounts, from March 2019 through July 2019, Thomas embezzled more than $45,000 from JCETP. Thomas caused checks to be drawn from JCETP accounts that were made payable to others, but ultimately received by Thomas. He also embezzled JCETP funds by issuing JCETP checks made out to cash that Thomas either cashed himself or used to obtain bank checks that Thomas made payable to his entity, Next Glocal, which were deposited into a Next Glocal bank account that Thomas controlled. Thomas used the JCETP funds deposited to Next Glocal’s bank account to pay for his personal expenses, including payments to Thomas’s landlord in Jersey City and airfare and hotel expenses for a trip to Hawaii, and to fund transfers to Thomas’ family trust account.

The count of theft from an organization receiving federal funds carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General (OIG), under the supervision of Special Agent in Charge Michael Mikulka; and special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Supervisory Special Agent Thomas Mahoney, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.

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

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

20-003

Defense counsel: Christopher D. Adams Esq., Roseland, New Jersey

American Life League Calls for Catholic Response to Murphy\’s $9.5M Bailout of Planned Parenthood

\”Planned Parenthood is a vicious, racist institution whose actions are diametrically opposed to Catholic moral and social teaching\”~

American Life League president Judie Brown

WASHINGTON, D.C. (03 January 2020) —

American Life League president Judie Brown

issued the following statement calling on Bishop James F. Checchio of the Catholic Diocese of Metuchen to impose canonical sanctions against New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy:

Planned Parenthood is a vicious, racist institution whose actions are diametrically opposed to Catholic moral and social teaching. For Murphy to shovel $9.5 million of New Jersey’s taxpayer dollars into the maw of the nation’s #1 abortion machine is abhorrent.

Such actions taken by Catholic public figures do more than just scandalize the faithful. They present to Catholics the idea that they too can create their own private version of truth. Such a condition not only coarsens society, but further erodes the authority of the Catholic bishops in the United States who continue to allow pro-abortion public figures, such as Governor Murphy, to profane the Holy Eucharist.

On behalf of the millions of pro-life Catholics whom we represent and the over 70,000 families who support our work, American Life League calls on Bishop James Checchio to take the sad but necessary step of enforcing Canon 915 and formally instructing Governor Murphy that he is not to present himself to Holy Communion.

Catholics need to be bold enough to realize the link between abortion and the Real Presence of Christ. It should be no small wonder that only 1 in 6 Catholics actually believe in the Real Presence when we do so little to defend Christ’s image in the womb.

Bishop Checchio, millions of Catholics across America are looking to you to see whether or not the Real Presence is more than what the world sees. Murphy’s mockery should not be met with silence, but correction. What would St. Thomas Becket do?

American Life League is the nation’s oldest grassroots, Catholic, pro-life organization. Its president, Judie Brown, has led the organization since its 1979 beginning. She has served three terms on the Pontifical Academy for Life—appointed twice by Pope John Paul II and again by Pope Benedict XVI.

PA Turnpike Toll Hikes Drag on Economy

By Dave Lemery |

The Center Square

Pity the commuter or trucker who must steer his or her vehicle onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike to get to work each day – the toll rates that critics say are already exorbitant are about to get even worse.

Reeling under massive debt payments that were supposed to be covered by tolls on Interstate 80, the ailing Turnpike administration is set to roll out even higher toll rates starting Sunday, Jan. 5.

For a passenger vehicle traveling from the westernmost toll plaza in Warrendale, just outside Pittsburgh, all the way across the state to the easternmost ticketing plaza in North Wales, just outside Philadelphia, a motorist today can expect to pay $36.20. But by next week, that price will rise to $38.40.

In 2016, the same trip cost $30.32 in tolls.

The source of the Turnpike’s financial distress is

a 2007 law

that diverted $450 million annually from Turnpike coffers to PennDOT to fund other efforts. When the federal government refused to allow the state to put tolls on I-80, the annual payments became unsustainable and have led to annual toll hikes; in the preceding 64 years, the Turnpike averaged less than one toll hike per decade.

Lawmakers later approved a smaller payment from the Turnpike to PennDOT – starting in 2022, the obligation will drop from $450 million a year to $50 million through 2057. But in the meantime, the Turnpike has accumulated about $13 billion in debt, and climbing.

In November, Rep. Lori Mizgorski, R-Allison Park,

said more action needs to be taken

beyond the scheduled drop in PennDOT payments in two years.

“The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) has been forced by law to raise tolls for 11 straight years, while causing the turnpike to reduce its rebuilding program by 13 [percent], forcing their debt levels to more than $13 billion,” Mizgorski said. “The turnpike commission needs to make critical investments to power economic growth across the Commonwealth and provide relief to its customers from excessive toll increases.”

In a news conference last year to call attention to the Turnpike’s financial issues, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale noted that the effects of the rising tolls radiate throughout the state’s economy, raising prices even for those who never drive a single mile on the highway.

“For those that think, ‘Well, I don\’t drive the Turnpike, why should I care about this? I don\’t pay that?’ News flash. Those truckers that are driving on that, they\’re hauling fruit, they\’re hauling food,” DePasquale said. “They\’re hauling goods and services that you\’re buying in Pennsylvania. Yes, you are paying that, because that is being passed along to the consumers.”

Turnpike Commission CEO Mark Compton said last year that about half of the turnpikes $1.2 billion in revenue each year is going toward paying $600 million in debt, preventing the commission from taking on needed large-scale improvement projects.

Pick Six Increases to $5.7 Million for Jan. 6

TRENTON (Jan. 3, 2020) – The Pick-6 drawing on January 2 produced seven winners of $3,776 for matching five out of six white balls drawn. One of those tickets was purchased with XTRA, multiplying the prize to $15,104. The $5.7 million drawing will be held Monday, January 6, 2020.

The winning numbers for the Thursday, January 2, drawing were: 08, 14, 16, 22, 38 and 44. The XTRA Multiplier was: 04. By adding XTRA for an additional $1.00 per play, winners are able to multiply their non-jackpot prizes by the XTRA number drawn.

Acting Executive Director James Carey announced that there were 528,697 tickets purchased for the drawing and of those sold, thousands were prizewinners! For correctly matching four numbers, 438 ticketholders won $59 each and 52 others won $236 each with the addition of XTRA. Moreover, for correctly matching three numbers 7,820 ticketholders won $3.00 each and 1,252 others won $12 each with the addition of XTRA. 9,074 ticketholders each won $2.00 for correctly matching two numbers with the addition of XTRA on their purchase.

NJBIA: IRS Figures Show Continued Outmigration of NJ\’s Adjusted Gross Income

According to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data released last week, New Jersey experienced an outflow of nearly $3.2 billion in Individual Income Tax Return Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for tax year 2017-2018.

With this added net loss of AGI, New Jersey\’s total net loss is $28.1 billion over a 13-year period, dating back to 2004-2005.

\”This continuing outflow of income tax returns speaks to our declining competitiveness in the region and the nation,\” said NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka. \”We need to improve our state\’s economy through comprehensive planning and reform, rather than excessive taxation, which serves as the trigger for people to want to leave our great state.\”

In 2017-2018, New Jersey recorded an inflow of $8.3 billion in income tax returns, compared to $11.5 billion in income tax return outflow.

Data shows that New Jersey\’s regional competitors – New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Delaware and Connecticut – received 41% of New Jersey\’s outmigrated AGI in 2017-2018.

NJBIA has historically tracked this data and will have further updates on the latest IRS findings in the coming weeks.

Devitt powers TCNJ women over Rutgers-Camden

EWING, N.J. (Jan. 4, 2020) – Junior forward Shannon Devitt scored a game-high 27 points and sophomore guard/forward Rachel Gazzola added 18 to lead The College of New Jersey women’s

basketball team over Rutgers University-Camden, 66-53, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday afternoon.

The victory snapped the Lions’ two-game losing streak and lifted TCNJ to 7-5 overall and 4-1 in the conference. The Scarlet Raptors fell to 5-5 overall and 0-5 in the NJAC with their fourth straight loss.

TCNJ has won its last five games against Rutgers-Camden and leads the all-time series, 59-12.

The Scarlet Raptors had a quick start, jumping out to a 13-6 lead before TCNJ closed the gap to 15-10 after one quarter. Rutgers-Camden led by as many as five points in the second quarter (23-18) and held a 25-21 advantage before the Lions scored the last five points of the half to take a 26-25 lead into the break. They took the lead for good with 10 seconds remaining in the first half on a jumper by senior forward Jen Byrne.

TCNJ led by as many as 15 points, 66-51, late in the game.

Devitt notched 18 of her game-high 27 points in the second half to power the Lions. In addition to Gazzola, Byrne also finished in double figures, scoring 11 points. Devitt added a game-high four steals and seven rebounds, while Byrnes had a game-high five assists and six boards.

Morgan Heller paced the Lions with nine rebounds, tying for game-high honors with the Scarlet Raptors’ senior guard

Fatimah Williams.

Williams also had 13 points, three assists and three steals.

Sophomore guard/forward

Tamara Johnson

paced the Scarlet Raptors with 14 points, while adding eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Freshman center

Kayla Newton

notched 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots, tying Devitt for game-high honors in blocks.

Freshman guard/forward

Jalissa Pitts

also added eight rebounds for the Raptors, while collecting eight points.

Rutgers-Camden held a 48-40 advantage off the boards, but also made 20 turnovers to the Lions’ 15. The Scarlet Raptors shot 22-for-64 (34.4 percent) from the floor and 5-for-15 (33.3) from the foul line. TCNJ went 24-for-64 (37.5) from the floor and 10-for-16 (62.5) from the line.

The Scarlet Raptors return to action Monday night with a 6 p.m. non-conference game at Penn State-Abington.

Rev. James Dabrowsk, Pastor of Many South Jersey Catholic Parishes Dies; Services Thursday & Friday

Rev. James Dabrowsk

Rev. James Dabrowski, died on January 1, 2020. He was 63. Rev. Dabrowski was born on November 14, 1956 in Philadelphia, PA and prepared for the Priesthood at the University of Scranton and St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore, MD. He was ordained for the Priesthood on May 26, 1984 at St. Cecilia’s RC Church in Pennsauken. He served as Parochial Vicar at Saint John of God, North Cape May; St, Joseph, Somers Point; Sacred Heart, Mount Ephraim; and St. Thomas, Brigantine. He then went on to serve as Pastor at Annunciation BVM, Bellmawr, St. Simon Stock, Berlin, and St. Thomas More, Cherry Hill.

Beloved son of the late Benjamin L. and Kathleen M. (nee McCrossan) Dabrowski. Devoted brother of Lawrence J. Dabrowski and late Kathleen (nee Dabrowski) Yanzuk. He is also survived by 8 nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews.

Reception of the Body will take place at 4:00 PM on Thursday, January 9, 2020 at Saint Simon Stock Parish, 178 West White Horse Pike, Berlin. The viewing will follow until 8:00 PM. The viewing will continue on Friday, January 10 at 9:00 AM until 9:45 AM. Reverend Robert E. Hughes will celebrate the Mass of the Christian Burial immediately following the viewing at 10:00 AM. Burial will take place at Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Food for the Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Florida 33073 (

www.foodforthepoor.org

) or to the Missionaries of the Poor, P.O Box 8525, Kingston, Jamaica, WI (

www.missionariesofthepoor.org

).

ICE Lodges Detainer against Mexican illegal Alien arrested in SC for Sexual Abuse of a Child

CHARLESTON, S.C. – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) lodged an immigration detainer Tuesday against an unlawfully present Mexican man arrested in North Charleston earlier this month

for sexual abuse of a child.

Carlos Bartolo-Rios was arrested December 19 by the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, of which ICE and the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office are members, after executing a state criminal warrant at Bartolo-Rios’s North Charleston residence for first degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Mr. Bartolo-Rios is currently being held by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office while awaiting trial for the state criminal charges he faces. ICE has lodged an immigration detainer against Mr. Bartolo-Rios and will seek to take him into immigration custody for removal proceedings at whatever point he may be released from criminal custody for the crimes he faces in South Carolina.

“This case is an excellent example of ICE’s ongoing focus to prioritize its immigration enforcement efforts toward unlawfully present foreign nationals who pose a clear threat to public safety,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Atlanta Acting Field Office Director John Tsoukaris. “Despite attempts by some to confuse the public, ICE does not conduct any type of random or indiscriminate enforcement and the agency’s targeted enforcement efforts make communities safer for all persons whatever their immigration status may be.”

In fiscal year 2019, more than 90 percent of all persons arrested by ICE within the Atlanta field office, which includes Georgia and the Carolinas, either had a criminal conviction, a pending criminal charge, or were already subject to a removal order issued by a federal immigration judge.

Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the ICE tip line at 1 (866) 347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s

online tip form

.

ICE is focused on the arrest and removal of public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges.