Defendant sold her car without her knowledge on a website and made approximately $13,000 in fraudulent charges on victim's account.

Franklin police arrested an Edison man after a lengthy investigation into theft and fraud charges. (Dave Hutchinson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) 

FRANKLIN -- An Edison man has been sentenced to five years in prison on gun and theft charges that include him selling his then-roommate's car without her knowledge and making approximately $13,000 in fraudulent charges on her accounts, Franklin police spokesman Sgt. Philip Rizzo announced Monday.

Dylan Nguyen, 32, was sentenced by Somerset County Superior Court Judge Julie M. Marino and must serve a minimum of 42 months before he's eligible for parole, Rizzo said.

Nguyen pleaded guilty to second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, third-degree theft by unlawful taking, fourth-degree possession of a large capacity magazine and fourth-degree possession of hollow-point bullets, Rizzo said.

On November 29, 2014, Franklin police responded to a Tintern Court residence in the Somerset section of Franklin Township for a reported theft and fraud case, police said.

The victim told officers that her roommate, Nguyen, had made numerous fraudulent charges with her credit cards and opened several new accounts in her name, police said. She added that her 2010 Acura TSX had been missing since Nov. 26, 2014, police said. The vehicle was entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system as stolen, police said.

Lead investigator, Franklin Detective Emma Bascom, confirmed that Nguyen had made approximately $13,000 in fraudulent charges utilizing the victim's accounts and sold her vehicle on an internet website, police said.

On December 1, 2014, the victim's Acura was recovered by the Virginia Beach Police Department and returned to her, police said.

Further investigation by Bascom discovered that Nguyen was driving a 2007 black BMW and had an outstanding active warrant from Middlesex County, police said. A BOLO was placed for Nguyen and his vehicle, police said.

On March 31, 2015, at 1:19 p.m., Franklin police officers John Kuzemchak and Amin Brodie spotted the black BMW bearing the license plate uncovered during the investigation and conducted a motor vehicle stop on Franklin Boulevard, police said.  Nguyen as the driver, police said.

Nguyen was taken into custody and the vehicle was impounded, police said. A search warrant for the vehicle revealed a handgun, large capacity magazine and hollow point bullets, police said.

"Hard work and dedication allowed the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office to present a solid case and bring this individual to justice."

Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com.Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The lockdown was later modified to a shelter-in-place so that classes could continue.

File photo 

NEW BRUNSWICK - A report of possible gunshots Monday morning in an area behind New Brunswick High School prompted a lockdown of the school, officials said.

The lockdown was later modified to a shelter-in-place so that classes could continue.

At 9:25 a.m., police lifted the shelter-in-place and normal activities resumed.  

Police determined there was no threat to the school.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Police are warning of a scheme that may be targeting the Indian-American community by defrauding people with false reports of housing foreclosures.

Police say Mahwish Chaudry of Piscataway defrauded a 76-year-old Linden man out of $9,000 by falsely telling him his house was in foreclosure. 

LINDEN -- A Piscataway woman faces charges of scamming a 76-year-old city man out of $9,000 in a scheme that authorities say may be targeting Indian-Americans.

Mahwish Chaudry, 31, was arrested Sept. 25 for the scheme in which she told the victim he was in danger of losing his home, police said.

Last May, Chaudry called the man claiming she was employed by a financial company and that his home was in foreclosure, said police Capt. James Sarnicki.

He said Chaudry then told him that she could drive him to the bank to make a cash withdrawal and turn the money over to her to save his house. The victim complied and gave Chaudry $4,000 in cash, the captain said.

Several days later, the woman called the victim again and said they needed more money to prevent the foreclosure, Sarnicki said. He said this time Chaudry was accompanied by a second woman, and the two of them drove him to a local bank where he withdrew $5,000 and gave it to them.
 
The victim subsequently reported the incident to police and Detective Kenneth Mikolajczyk investigated the case and obtained an arrest warrant for Chaudry, Sarnicki said.

He said Chaudry was released pending a court hearing.

Police warned that this scam may be occurring in the Indian-American community and ask that any other victims come forward to their local police departments.

MORE UNION COUNTY NEWS

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Crime dropped in most Middlesex County towns according to data released Monday by the FBI, although violent crime went up in New Brunswick.

Most towns in Middlesex County saw rates in most crime categories drop last year from 2013, according to FBI data released Monday. Patti Sapone / The Star Ledger landmark new brunswick
 

NEW BRUNSWICK -- All 25 towns in Middlesex County showed drops in crime in one or more categories from 2013 to 2014, but some also showed either substantial increases or decreases in others, according to the data released Monday by the FBI.

New Brunswick had the largest increase in violent crime, from 303 incidents in 2013 to 418 in 2014, the report said. Robberies accounted for most of that increases, going from 116 to 222 between the two years, it said. Aggravated assaults also increased from 116 in 2013 to 174 in 2014.

The Hub city saw a decrease in property crime, though, from 1,665 in 2013 to 1,582 in 2014. Burglaries dropped from 546 to 523.

RELATED: Overall crime in N.J. plunges in 2014, FBI report shows

Perth Amboy, also an urban center, saw a slight increase in violent crime, from 243 in 2013 to 247 in 2014, but a significant reduction in robberies -- from 95 to 79 -- in the same period. They also had a reduction of property crime from 1,042 to 987.

South Brunswick saw a significant reduction in violent crime from 21 in 2013 to 10 in 2014. Robberies went from 8 to 3; aggravated assaults dropped from 13 to 4 in the same period; and property crimes went from 540 in 2013 to 387 a year later.

South Brunswick Police Chief Ray Hayducka attributed the improved crime numbers in his town to the partnership between his department and the community helping police officers.

"We are also at the highest staffing level we've had in the past 10 years," Hayducka said. "For that, I have to thank the mayor and council."

The numbers in the county followed a trend in the state that showed a decline of 9.3 percent from 2013 and a drop in the rate of violent crime to roughly 261 offenses per 100,000 people or 9.6 percent from 2013.

Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Exfocus, an alleged hacker, posted a series of messages on Twitter before Monday's attack on Rutgers' computer network.

NEW BRUNSWICK -- An alleged hacker appeared to taunt Rutgers University officials Monday as a cyber attack paralyzed the school's computer network.

The university was hit with a "denial of service" attack Monday morning that crashed Rutgers' websites and cut off internet and wifi access to tens of thousands of students, faculty and employees.

An alleged hacker who uses the screen name Exfocus took credit for several similar attacks on Rutgers' computer networks during the 2014-2015 school year.

Several taunting tweets appeared on Exfocus' Twitter account Monday before and after the latest attack.

"where internet go?? 3m dollar gone?" read one tweet, posted around noon.

The tweets were later removed, but several students captured screen shots of Exfocus' Twitter page while the tweets were still visible to the public.

The $3 million referenced in Exfocus' tweet appears to refer to the $3 million Rutgers officials recently said they plan to spend upgrading the university's cyber security system in reaction to the series of "denial of service" attacks over the last year.

The university also hired at least three consulting firms in recent months to help test its networks and upgrade its computer security.

In another tweet posted shortly before Monday's cyber attack began, Exfocus wrote "RIP rutgers cas 2k15."

The tweet appeared to refer to crashing Rutgers' Central Authentication Service, the site where Rutgers students and staff enter their identification names and passwords to access the university's networks.

It is unclear if Exfocus is responsible for the cyber attacks or an elaborate hoax. However, the taunting tweets appeared to begin shortly before the latest cyber attack began.

A Rutgers spokesman said the university began to experience computer and internet problems early Monday.

"The Office of Information Technology is working to resolve the issue and we will inform the Rutgers community as soon as we have more information," said E.J. Miranda, a Rutgers spokesman.

The university's internet technology department identified the problem as a "denial of service event," or an attack in which a hacker uses "bots," or compromised computers, to flood a network with requests. The bots overwhelm the network, crashing websites and affecting internet access.

By Monday afternoon, Rutgers' websites and internet access appeared to be returning to normal.

The attack was at least the fifth "denial of service" attack at Rutgers since last fall.

The FBI was called in to investigate the earlier attacks. But neither FBI investigators nor Rutgers officials have commented on the case.

Exfocus appeared to taunt Rutgers on Twitter, Reddit and other social media sites during last spring's cyber attacks.

In an interview with a local tech blogger, a hacker claiming to be Exfocus said he or she was paid $500 an hour in Bitcoin by a client with a grudge against Rutgers.

"Normally I don't show myself, but the entity paying me has something against the school. They want me to 'make a splash,'" Exfocus said in the interview, according to a transcript posted by the tech blogger.

Though it remains unclear if Exfocus was responsible for Monday's internet outage and website disruptions, many Rutgers students directed their frustration at the alleged hacker's Twitter account (@ogexfocus).

"Please stop. There are graduate students, including myself, who need the Internet to do research that can't happen with this," one student wrote on Twitter.

Other students directed their anger at Rutgers officials, who said in July the university was raising tuition partly to help cover the rising cost of cyber security.

"Please tell me why my tuition was raised if @ogexfocus is still able to hack our internet," another student wrote in a tweet directed to Rutgers' Twitter account.

Rutgers hired three cyber security consultants -- FishNet Security, Level 3 Communications and Imperva - over the last year to do behind-the-scenes work to upgrade cyber security on campus.

The firms are doing a variety of work, including testing Rutgers' networks for possible areas vulnerable to hackers. Rutgers also paid Imperva $160,000 for specialized filters to help protect against denial of service attacks, according to records obtained through the state Open Public Records Act.

Dubbed "Operation Family Tides," the 10-month investigation by several county and local law enforcement agencies revealed the members obtained large quantities of heroin in raw undiluted form and then recruited people to package the opiate for sale primarily in the Cliffwood section of Aberdeen.

FREEHOLD -- A Monmouth County grand jury on Monday indicted 20 people as part of a drug distribution network that included several members of the same family who recruited others to package heroin and cocaine flowing through the county's Bayshore area.

Four of those indicted are charged with being the leaders of that network, which acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said sold large quantities of heroin almost daily.

Seven others are accused of conspiring with the alleged leaders to distribute heroin and cocaine in a network that Gramiccioni said operated out of houses and apartments in Monmouth and Middlesex counties.

Dubbed "Operation Family Tides," the 10-month investigation by several county and local law enforcement agencies revealed the members obtained large quantities of heroin in raw undiluted form and then recruited people to package the opiate for sale primarily in the Cliffwood section of Aberdeen.

The 136-count indictment names Gregory "IA" Moore, 34; Terrence "T9" Brown, 38; Edward "Head" Guttridge II, 30, all of Cliffwood, and Halee Wing, 37, of East Orange, as leaders of the narcotics ring. The four men are charged with leading a narcotics trafficking network, conspiracy, drug possession with intent to distribute and drug distribution.

Those charged as being co-conspirators are Isaiah "Zeke" Edwards, 25, of Old Bridge; Raymond "Hood" Jackson, 30, of Keyport; Bianca Edwards, 22, of Old Bridge; Joseph "Rule" Jackson Jr., 44, of Matawan, Krystal Mell, 26, of Keansburg, Alina Alma, 24, of New York City and James, "King James" Hemenway, 37, of Woodbridge. They were charged with conspiracy, drug possession with intent to distribute and drug distribution. Brown, Isaiah Edwards, Gutridge, Raymond Jackson, Mell and Joseph Jackson, Jr. also face additional drug distribution charges. Additionally, Gutridge and Jessica German, 21, of New York City, were each charged with drug possession.

Members of the operation also sold powder and crack cocaine, Gramiccioni said.

He said the investigation also uncovered two locations - an apartment in Perth Amboy and another apartment in Woodbridge - where heroin and cocaine were processed and packaged.

In the indictment, Gutridge, Wing, Alma, and Timothy Davidson, 38, of Old Bridge, are charged with maintaining or operating a drug production facility, drug possession with intent to distribute in connection with the apartment in Perth Amboy. Hemenway is charged with maintaining or operating a drug production facility and drug possession with intent to distribute related to the Woodbridge apartment, Gramiccioni said.

The indictment also named seven people who are accused of buying drugs from members of the narcotics ring. They were identified as Ryan Murphy, 26, and Taheem Brown, 22, of Cliffwood; Jason Remp, 21, of Hazlet; James Mitchell, 57, Shannon Lecomte 21, and Denise Giuriceo, 41, of Keansburg and Christine Owens, 44, of the West Keansburg section of Hazlet. They are charged with drug possession and conspiracy to possess drugs.

Rutgers University was plagued with computer problems again Monday.

NEW BRUNSWICK -- Rutgers University's computer network was crippled by a cyber attack Monday, leaving much of the state university without internet access for the fifth time in less than a year.

It is unclear if the hacker responsible for the attack was the same cyber criminal or criminals who targeted Rutgers with similar "denial of service" attacks last fall and during the spring semester.

The attack is affecting Rutgers' websites, internet connectivity and wifi access, said E.J. Miranda, a Rutgers spokesman.

"IT is working to resolve the issue," Miranda said.

The university community will be notified when the system is back online, Miranda said.

Rutgers University's main campus in New Brunswick. (Star-Ledger file photo) 

A "denial of service" attack uses a series of "bots," or compromised computer addresses, to flood an institution's  servers with requests, slowing the network and crippling the website.

The attacks are considered an annoyance and rarely result in a company or institution losing data or information.

The FBI was called in to investigate the four "denial of service" attacks at Rutgers in the fall 2014 and spring 2015 semesters. Neither the FBI nor Rutgers officials have commented on the status of the investigation.

Rutgers hired at least three consulting firms in the last year to help upgrade its cyber security efforts. The university planned to spend $2 million to $3 million this year to strengthen its online security and protect the university's computer systems.

A woman employee at RWJ University Hospital Hamilton faced gender discrimination and harassment from her supervisor both before and after her maternity leave.

HAMILTON - A female security supervisor at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton claims in a lawsuit that she was discriminated against for taking maternity leave, then punished for breastfeeding once she returned.

Adrianne Russo, of Monroe, also alleges she was repeatedly sexually harassed by her boss, who sent her sexually explicit text messages and emails, and once told her that breastfeeding was "yucky," her suit claims.

Adrianne Russo shown in a 2014 photo. 

"We are confident that the facts will demonstrate that Ms. Russo was subjected to repeated and outrageous acts of sexual harassment and gender discrimination while employed at Robert Wood Johnson," Russo's lawyer Matthew A. Luber said.

"When she dared to complain, defendants actually retaliated against her by intentionally making it more difficult for her to express milk at work and, in turn, breastfeed her child," Luber charged.

"While this behavior would be shocking in any context, the fact that Robert Wood Johnson, an institution that primarily employs women, would engage in such conduct is absolutely outrageous," the lawyer said.

An RWJ Hamilton spokesperson was not immediately available for comment Monday.

Before Russo's maternity leave in January 2014, her superior, hospital security director Dave Gordon, made sexually explicit comments to her and told her that her job was on the line for taking maternity leave, the suit, filed in Middlesex County Superior Court, alleges.

Upon returning in July 2014, Russo alleges the harassment became worse and eventually she was told she was not allowed to pump breast milk in her private office, Luber said.

The lawsuit claims Russo had requested a promotion and pay raise in the spring of 2013 after being given additional responsibilities for which Gordon agreed to. Once Gordon learned in June 2013 that Russo was pregnant - with her first child - he blew off meetings to discuss the promotion.

The suit also claims that after learning Russo was pregnant, Gordon also made disparaging and unwarranted comments about her work performance. "For example, when defendant Gordon overheard a co-worker ask Plaintiff if she was planning on having another child, defendant Gordon stated to Plaintiff  "'then you will really be useless."

Gordon also allegedly remarked to Russo, "Now, now don't offer to dance naked, no one wants to see that anymore."

RELATED: Breastfeeding mom says she was fired for needing breaks

Once back at work, Russo complained that Gordon told her she pumped breast milk too often and that breastfeeding was "yucky."

The hospital's Director of Human Resources Rosemarie Frank, also named in the suit, allegedly defended Gordon's actions, saying Russo is no longer allowed to pump in her private office.

On April 1, 2015, in a meeting where both Gordon and Russo were present in the same room, Frank allegedly said to Russo: "Wouldn't you just rather be home with your baby?"

Dating to 2013, Gordon allegedly would send sexually explicit texts and emails to Russo and routinely discussed sexual positions, genitalia and pornography. During one encounter, Gordon said to Russo, "There must be a problem unless you are a cheerleader in a short skirt."

The lawsuit claims both Gordon and Frank would openly discuss "their sex life and their frustrations with their sex life."

Less than a week after the April 1 meeting, Russo received an email from Frank that copied Gordon and the hospital's Vice President of Quality and Professional Services Joyce Schwartz, that said Russo would no longer be able to pump breast milk in her office, and must use a lactation room two buildings away.

Schwartz is also named in the suit.

Walking to the lactation room takes too much time away from her job post, Russo says in the suit, and she cannot take as many breaks to pump breast milk for her now 19-month daughter.

Gordon was fired from the hospital in June 2015, Luber said.

Luber said Russo was passed up for Gordon's director position when he was fired even though she would have been next in line for the title.

Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

 

Christian Reyes is believed to have run away from his Perth Amboy home, police stated in an email alert.

Christian Reyes, 16, has been missing since Sunday night, according to police.Perth Amboy Police Department 

UPDATE: Missing teen found

PERTH AMBOY - Police are seeking the public's help in finding a 16-year-old boy who went missing from his Perth Amboy home Sunday night.

Christian Reyes is believed to have run away from home, police stated in an email alert.

Reyes is Hispanic and has black hair, black eyes, is 5-feet, 5-inches tall and weighs 130 pounds.

He was last seen wearing a purple jacket, black tank top, black jogger-style pants with a traffic-sign pattern and black-red-white Kamikaze Reebok sneakers, police said. 

There is no reason to believe the teenager is in danger at this time, police said.

Anyone who knows where he might be is asked to call police at 732-442-4400.

 

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

New Jersey's largest insurance company "schemed in secret" to "deliberately exclude" Catholic hospitals from a new plan that will lure away customers with cheaper premiums, the president of the Catholic HealthCare Partnership said on Monday.

TRENTON -- New Jersey's largest insurance company "schemed in secret" to deliberately exclude Catholic hospitals from participating in a new plan that will lure customers with cheaper premiums, the president of the Catholic HealthCare Partnership said Monday.

Sister Patricia Codey, the partnership's president, said she could draw no conclusion other than religious discrimination to explain why seven out of eight Catholic hospital systems were not invited to join Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey's new line of health plans available next year.

Most Catholic hospitals scored high on the Leapfrog Group's national safety report card, she noted. And, they are accustomed to running leaner operations while treating more poor people compared to many of the largest hospital systems Horizon invited to join its OMNIA Alliance and the "tier one" network.

RELATED: N.J. hospitals excluded from Horizon's proposal worry about their future

"Horizon was not transparent and schemed in secret with select hospital systems while refusing to detail the criteria they used," Codey said. "So in the end, not only did Horizon deliberately exclude Catholic hospitals, but they have chosen some of the most expensive hospitals in New Jersey which will cost their customers even more."

Insurance companies should not be able to dictate which of our state's hospitals succeed and which ones fail," she said. "However, that is exactly what Horizon - the state's largest insurer - is doing with its plan to designate Catholic hospitals as second-tier facilities. The implication of Horizon's decision is clear to Catholic patients."

Horizon denied religious affiliation had anything to do with the hospitals the selected for their new product.

"Horizon BCBSNJ engaged in a thoughtful and deliberate process in choosing the OMNIA Health Alliance based upon an understanding of the desire, ability, and demonstrated commitment by those health systems to move from fee-for-service to fee-for-value health care. We did not consider in our criteria, the health systems' tax status, religious affiliation, or governance structure," Horizon spokesman Tom Vincz said.

"Health systems were separately approached to join the Alliance and did not know of or play a role in choosing the others. The tier status is not a view of the quality of care provided by an individual hospital, but rather based upon their demonstrated commitment, capacity, resources and ability to move from fee-for-service to fee-for-value as an organized system of care," Vincz said.

The attack by the Catholic hospital group joins a growing group of critics concerned about the plan announced earlier this month by Horizon, insurance provider for 3.7 million New Jerseyans. Sens. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex) and Nia Gill (D-Essex) last week asked Horizon for a 30-day delay before it introduces the new plans to state employees in October. The senators are holding hearing on the plan Oct. 5.

Horizon has signed an agreement with 34 of the largest hospitals, which will accept lower reimbursement in exchange for higher patient volume -- presumably achieved by consumers who choose "tier one" hospitals and get cheaper premiums. The centerpiece of Horizon's new plan is the creation of the OMINA Alliance, with 22 of the 34 tier-one hospitals earning more if they show they are providing quality care by keeping people healthier at a lower cost.

Horizon officials have said they expect the transition will be gradual with an estimated 250,000 people joining in 2016.

The biggest players in the state's hospital landscape are included in the alliance, such as Atlantic Health, with its flagship hospital Morristown Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Health, based in New Brunswick, Barnabas Health, based in Livingston, and Hackensack University Medical Center.

The St. Joseph Healthcare System in Passaic County is the only Catholic system participating in the new tiered hospital and physician network Horizon will begin phasing in next year. 

State lawmakers came to the defense of Catholic hospitals in their districts, including Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen).

"As a Catholic and as Chair of the Assembly Human Services Committee, I have seen firsthand the commitment Catholic hospitals have to the communities they serve, such as Holy Name Medical Center (in Teaneck) in my district," Huttle said. "I sincerely hope that Horizon did not intentionally keep Catholic hospitals out of its tier 1 plan. If Horizon wants to quickly dispel this claim, it should be transparent with the criteria it used to select the elite group of hospitals that would participate in this new alliance."

"Often, Catholic hospitals serve poorer communities. These are the residents who are most in need of less costly but still high quality healthcare. If these claims are true, they are unacceptable," she added.

Horizon recently created a web page explaining the plan, including endorsements from health insurance consultants and the chairman of the of the New Jersey Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

"Health care costs in the state are especially problematic for our small businesses and present a challenge that many of them simply can't meet any longer. By paying for the value, not volume, of health care being provided to lower costs, as OMNIA will do, it will ease the burden on both working families and businesses in New Jersey and create a friendly, more welcoming environment," Carlos Medina, the chamber's chairman said. "This is a new, innovative way of providing care that should be embraced across our state."

Codey said Horizon's refusal to detail how hospitals were selected and others excluded leaves the insurance giant open to accusations of discrimination.

"Just last week, Pope Francis spoke to Congress and talked about how we need to do more to help our poor and under-served communities. Horizon's decision will undoubtedly make it more difficult for Catholic hospitals to continue our mission of providing access to the healthcare for New Jersey's poor and uninsured citizens," Codey said.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

 

The cost of ambulance service is on the rise, the fire union claims.

EDISON -- The chest pains started not long after firefighter Joe Dipple arrived at the scene. Laden with gear, fully exerted as he walked past the burning home, he suddenly couldn't carry a ladder through the 10 inches of snow on that afternoon in February 2014. 

Sit down, another firefighter told him. You're going into an ambulance. 

Even though Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital was closer to the south Edison home, the first-responders took him to JFK Medical Center.

When he got there, his union reps say, he received substandard medical care and an unwanted cashectomy. And now, with a $2,600 medical bill for an ambulance ride that the town still hasn't paid, he is worried about his credit, and wondering whether the town will ever take care of it. 

"I get the bills every month. I send them to my union. The union sends them to the town," Dipple said in August. "I've never had any problems like this before." 

Dipple's case is just one stark example of what the fire union sees as JFK Hospital's growing influence and worrisome impunity in Edison township. The union president, Robert Yackel, said that the problems are made worse by the fact that the mayor, Thomas Lankey, is also a top official at the hospital. Yackel recently filed ethics charges accusing the mayor of self-dealing, just a few years after the town outsourced EMS services to the private hospital. 

The situation is causing delayed response times and sticker shock for people who take ambulance rides, the union says: The $500 or $600 the town used to passively charge patients' insurance companies has become $1,500 or $2,500 from JFK, with monthly reminders about outstanding bills. And firefighters, who are CPR certified, are not being called to the scenes of incidents even if they're around the corner, in deference to JFK, Yackel said. 

In a statement, JFK said it had helped improve response times and saved the town money. 

"JFK's sole focus is to continue providing Edison the highest quality EMS services including significantly improved response times to patients in an emergency situation," spokesman Steven Weiss said in an email. "We are pleased to have helped the Township of Edison eliminate major expenses for EMS services." 

A central issue is certain ambulance transports that used to be the job of Edison firefighters. In the past, firefighters were paid a stipend to do the transports in town-owned vehicles, and they put $1 million back into the town every year when they billed insurance companies, the union says. But in 2011, the contract was outsourced to JFK, which pays the town $200,000 annually -- and bills patients $1 million a month, Yackel claims. 

The fire department would passively bill customers, meaning they'd collect whatever an insurance company was willing to pay and forgive the rest, Yackel said. 

Lankey's administration said in a statement that the JFK contract was subject to competition from other ambulance providers. The deal predates his election as mayor; when he was a councilman, he abstained from voting on JFK-related matters. Lankey is the senior vice president for long-term care at JFK. 

The switch to JFK has backfired in one major respect. The town was seeking to save money by not having to pay transport stipends to firefighters. But an appeals court ruled last week that the town had to pay $1.2 million for the transports that the town took away from the firefighters, because whether or not the work was guaranteed in the contract, the payments were. 

"What this town needs, they need someone to come in here and look at the delivery of the EMS system," Yackel said. "They have screwed this up something terrible."

Nearby Woodbridge has town-supported first-aid squads that do medical transports, and they also passively bill, meaning that they don't send collections letters and take what an insurance company will offer, according to a township spokesman. 

The union president says that even after the firefighters supported Lankey's election, they're not going to take it anymore.

"I got sick and tired of being jerked around all the time," Yackel said.

Going nuclear, burning the bridge, fanning the flames -- pick your fire-related metaphor. The union has filed an ethics complaint against Lankey with the state, just as the union is in negotiations on its contract with the town. 

Lankey has "taken advantage of his official state position and public trust to benefit a private organization for which he is affiliated, all to the detriment of the township's residents," Yackel wrote in a letter seeking a state investigation. 

Last year, the town's ethics board found that Lankey violated state regulations when he used the township attorney to fight a traffic ticket. 

"The mayor, a senior vice president, should not be doing business with the place he works for," Yackel said. "It's self-serving. Everything is JFK, JFK." 

William Northgrave, the township attorney, said the ethics complaint hadn't yet been delivered to Lankey. 

"Mayor Lankey respects any person's right to ask for a review of the actions of elected officials as set forth in state law," Northgrave said. "The Mayor would address any issues or concerns in the appropriate forum once they are brought to his attention."

Robert Diehl, the council president in Edison, said several seniors spoke up at a recent meeting about the suddenly higher cost of ambulance service (the town's business administrator, Maureen Ruane, said nobody in the mayor's office has received a complaint about ambulance service costs).

"They're being billed, and even though they're saying we don't necessarily chase you for that money, they still end up with a bill," Diehl said. "They don't like that."

Diehl said he's also heard complaints that JFK ambulances will take them to JFK, even when Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is closer. 

That was Dipple's experience. JFK was about five miles away from the fire scene; Robert Wood Johnson, in New Brunswick, was three. 

Dipple is on the mend, finally, but it took some straightening out. The JFK doctors told him he was having a lung issue, and told him to see his general practitioner, Dipple said. But it wasn't a lung issue. A month later, he went to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and found out he had to have surgery to repair a valve in his heart. 

He most recently received a bill for ambulance services in August. (In a statement, the town said that cases like these are rare, and have been rectified.)

JFK declined to talk about Dipple's case. 

In May, Dipple went before an arbitrator, he said. 

"They said, why aren't these bills paid?" Dipple said. "Pay the man's bills."

Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

The university was hit with a cyber attack Monday that left most of the 65,000-student university without internet access for much of the day.

NEW BRUNSWICK -- Rutgers University officials are working with local police and the FBI to find a cyber attacker who crippled the school's computer network earlier this week, campus administrators said.

The university was hit with a DDoS - or distributed denial of service attack - around 10 a.m. Monday that crashed Rutgers' websites and left most of the 65,000-student university without internet access for much of the day.

The attack was at least the fifth at Rutgers in less than a year.

"You should know that we are working with state and federal law enforcement officials on this matter," Don Smith, Rutgers' vice president for information technology, said in a message to the campus community Monday evening.

It is unclear if Monday's cyber attack is related to the other DDoS attacks that hit Rutgers during the 2014-2015 school year. In each of those cases, a hacker used "bots," or compromised computers, to flood Rutgers' networks with requests. That paralyzed Rutgers' internet and wifi access and left the public unable to get on most of the university's websites.

An alleged hacker using the name Exfocus took credit for the previous attacks on Rutgers'  networks in several social media posts and in an interview with a local tech blogger last spring. On Monday, Exfocus posted several taunting emails on his or her Twitter account before and during the latest Rutgers attack.

"where internet go?? 3m dollar gone?" read one tweet, posted around noon.

The tweets were later removed, but several students captured screen shots of Exfocus' Twitter page while the tweets were still visible to the public.

Rutgers officials previously said they plan to spend up to $3 million this year upgrading cyber security. The university has already hired three cyber security consulting firms to test its network and add new defenses, including new filters designed to help prevent DDoS attacks.

The school also upgraded its computer hardware, switched internet providers and added new layers of security.

Students are covering the cost of many of the upgrades. The added cost of computer security was one of the reasons Rutgers officials cited when they raised tuition this summer.

Smith, the Rutgers vice president overseeing the security upgrade, apologized to students, faculty and staff members for the inconvenience the "disruptive and annoying" attacks caused on campus.

But, he warned more attacks could be coming.

"DDoS attacks are becoming more frequent in cyberspace; they are being experienced in higher education, government and by commercial enterprises. There is no doubt that they will happen again," Smith said in his message to the campus community.

As of Monday night, Rutgers' internet access appeared to be working again, through some services and sites may still experience problems,  school officials said.

As with the previous cyber attacks, no student information or other data was stolen from Rutgers' networks.

"This was not a situation where any data was compromised," Smith said.

David Yearby's mother filed suit Tuesday against Middlesex County, Piscataway police and employees at the Middlesex County jail, charging they are responsible for causing their son's death while he was in custody in November.

NEW BRUNSWICK -- David Yearby's mother filed suit Tuesday against Middlesex County, Piscataway police and employees at the Middlesex County jail, charging they are responsible for causing their son's death while he was in custody in November.

The 23-page complaint, filed by Veronica Yearby in Middlesex County Court, charges it was the treatment he received at the jail that caused the broken neck that led to his death.

Yearby's attorney, Gregg Zeff, said the defendants deprived Yearby of his civil rights under the N.J. Constitution.

RELATED: Plainfield man died of neck fracture while in custody at Middlesex County jail

"This case involves the tragic and avoidable death of David Eric Yearby," the lawsuit said. "David's mental health condition was treated by defendants as a crime, punishable by death."

Yearby, 27, disappeared from the apartment he shared with his brother on Oct. 31, 2014, according to the complaint.

He suffered from a mental condition that required medical treatment, the lawsuit said, adding when his family discovered he was arrested by Piscataway police for assaulting two officers, his family was relieved.

The lawsuit states David's sister notified police about his condition and the need for mental health treatment, but "instead of treatment, they took him to (the county jail)."

"No one at the Piscataway Police Department informed officials at (the county jail) of Yearby's mental condition or need for mental health attention," the lawsuit said.

The complaint said at the time of the transfer to the county jail Yearby "possessed full function of his arms and shoulders" and had "not suffered a cervical fracture or spinal cord injury."

The complaint attributed the facts used for what happened at the jail to the investigative report provided by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, which investigated Yearby's death for four months.

No criminal charges were filed in the case.

The complaint said Yearby was disruptive, attempting to clog his toilet on Nov. 1 and refusing to leave his cell when maintenance arrived to fix it. A special extraction team of officers removed him from the cell for medical treatment, but found no weakness in his upper arms or legs.

He was placed in an inmate restraint chair.

According to the lawsuit, the manufacturer's guide explicitly restricts inmates' time to be spent in the chair to two hours, but Yearby was confined in the chair for nine hours with regular monitoring by officers and medical staff.

At 3:23 a.m. on Nov. 2, Yearby was unresponsive to verbal commands and the medical staff was notified, the lawsuit states.

He was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy found the cause of death was "blunt force trauma of head and neck with cervical fracture and spinal cord injury."

Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The latest one came on Monday night, at around 11:20 p.m., in Howell Township, police said.

Police are asking for the public's help in identifying the man in this surveillance photo. (Howell Township Police Department).

HOWELL -- Police are searching for a man wanted in connection with a string of TD Bank burglaries in several Monmouth County towns.

The latest one came on Monday night, at around 11:20 p.m., in Howell Township, police said. The man, captured by surveillance cameras, allegedly smashed out a large window and forced his way into the TD Bank located on Route 9.

Police said the alleged burglar pried open the coin-counting machine and stole change from inside of it. Police did not say how much money was stolen.

Police described the suspect as a white male in his 40s, who is overweight and had on pink gloves and a camouflage-printed bandanna around his neck and face.

The suspect is wanted in connection with similar TD Bank burglaries in Old Bridge, Hazlet and Marlboro in the past week, police said.

Police asked anyone with information to contact Detective Chris Nagy at 732-938-4575 ext. 2892.    

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

 

The mother of a Plainfield man who died in the Middlesex County jail in November said she filed suit against Middlesex County, Piscataway and employees of the county jail because she wants justice for her son. Watch video

NEW BRUNSWICK -- The mother of a Plainfield man who died in the Middlesex County jail in November said Tuesday she filed a lawsuit against Middlesex County, Piscataway and employees of the county jail because she wants justice for her son.

"They should have gotten him the help he needed," Veronica Yearby said at a press conference in New Brunswick after filing her lawsuit. "I want other young men with mental health issues to get the help they need when they get arrested. This has got to stop."

David Yearby, 27, died in the early morning hours of Nov. 2 after spending nine hours in a restraining chair at the Middlesex County jail, according to the complaint filed by his mother, who is the administratrix of his estate.

The complaint charged Yearby was maced, beaten, hooded and strapped to the restraint chair before he died of a broken neck at the county jail.

RELATED: Mother of inmate who died of broken neck files lawsuit

A four-month investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office revealed details of Yearby's final hours but did but result in criminal charges because it could not determine what or who caused Yearby's death, according to the complaint.

David YearbyPhoto provided 

Yearby's attorney, Gregg Zeff of Mount Laurel, said at the press conference that instead of getting care the mentally ill are "getting beaten and put into jails and prisons."

Yearby, 27, disappeared from the apartment he shared with his brother on Oct. 31, 2014, according to the complaint.

He suffered from a mental condition that required medical treatment, the complaint said, adding when his family discovered he was arrested by Piscataway police for assaulting two officers, his family "was relieved."

Neither the mother nor the attorney would reveal what Yearby's mental illness was.

The complaint said David's sister notified police about his condition and the need for mental health treatment, but "instead of treatment, they took him to (the county jail)."

"No one at the Piscataway Police Department informed officials at (the county jail) of Yearby's mental condition or need for mental health attention," the lawsuit said.

Veronica Yearby said she blames Piscataway police the most for her son's death because "they should have listened to my daughter and gotten him the help he needed."

"He was a very good person, a very good kid," Yearby said, crying. "He wouldn't hurt anybody. He was so funny. He didn't like to see me sad. He didn't deserve this."

 

Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The Edison Police Department wants to outfit officers with body cameras.

EDISON -- Long plagued by discipline problems at every rank, the Edison Police Department is seeking federal and state money to outfit its officers with 125 body cameras.

The devices will help hold police in the state's fifth-largest town accountable and exonerate them of frivolous complaints, the police chief and mayor say.

"It's about instilling the confidence in the police department from the community -- for the community to have confidence in the police department," Police Chief Thomas Bryan said in an interview. 

Bryan said he predicted 20 years ago that police would be outfitted with body cameras, as portrayed in the 1992 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie "Universal Soldier." 

The grants, Bryan said, are very competitive. 

New Jersey has pledged millions to equip police officers with body cameras.  

"Body-worn cameras are an increasingly vital tool in evidence-gathering for criminal and accident investigations, and prosecutions," Edison Mayor Thomas Lankey said in an emailed statement. "A visual record would also foster greater public confidence in our police officers by demonstrating their commitment to duty and level of professionalism."

The town has applied for a $250,000 federal grant, and also is requesting a share of a $150,000 state grant that was awarded to the Middlesex County prosecutor's office. The federal grant is part of a $75 million Department of Justice body-camera program. 

The money would pay for 125 body-worn cameras, usually worn on or near the lapel, plus cloud-based digital storage where the video footage would reside. 

Police in Morristown, Atlantic City, sheriff's deputies in Essex and Cape May counties and Rowan and Kean police already wear the body cameras, the township said. 

The Edison Police Department has 173 sworn officers. Edison's crime rate is among the lowest in the nation for a town of its size, but years of scandal have helped instill a high level of public distrust in the department. 

Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton security supervisor received sweeping support on Tuesday after she claimed workplace discrimination.

HAMILTON - The security supervisor suing her hospital employer for allegedly discriminating against her for taking maternity leave and punishing her for breastfeeding after returning said she she's received sweeping support for her claims.

"I have received tremendous support from family, friends, colleagues and several

Adrianne Russo shown in a 2014 picture.
 

support groups," Adrianne Russo, of Monroe, said in a statement Tuesday.

Russo has worked for Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton since 2008. She sued the hospital in June in Middlesex County Superior Court.

"It certainly makes me feel better knowing I am not alone and I hope this brings more awareness to issues concerning working mothers," the statement said.

Bordentown resident and activist Alison Gary met Russo at a former breastfeeding support group run through RWJ Hamilton, which has since been shut down in conjunction with the closing of the hospital's maternity ward earlier this year.

"I think this speaks wonders to Robert Wood Johnson's general feeling toward women and breastfeeding," Gary said.

Gary organized the August protest for Browns Mill resident Ariana Gossard who was fired recently from the Hampton Inn Bordentown after they claimed they could not accommodate her breaks to breastfeed.

"Stay strong it's not the end of everything," Gossard said after reading about Russo's lawsuit on nj.com.  "Don't push the support away. I just hope things work out for her for the best."

Gossard has not heard from the Hampton Inn Bordentown since she was fired on Aug. 7 but her former employer, Rita's Ice in Browns Mill, knew of the incident and offered her a job, for which she has since accepted.

Gossard said her daughter Sophie will be turning 5 months old on Friday and is still being breastfed, and she hopes to continue doing so until she is at least a year old.

Gossard encouraged Russo to keep breastfeeding and to find a job that will be accepting of her needs.

RELATED: Employee says she was harassed, punished for breastfeeding

Russo alleges that she was repeatedly sexually harassed over a two-year time period by the RWJ Hamilton's security director Dave Gordon, who she claims sent her sexually explicit text messages and emails and told her breastfeeding is "yucky," the suit claims.

After a meeting with Human Resources Director Rosemarie Frank, also named in the suit, and Gordon, Russo allegedly was told she must refrain from expressing breast milk in her private office and do so in a designated lactation room two buildings away.

Gary said RWJ Hamilton is imposing "ridiculous restrictions" on Russo for not allowing her to pump in her private office.

"The laws change after a child is a year old such that you are no longer protected from pumping at work," Gary said. "But there is no law explicitly forbidding Adrianne from pumping in her private office during breaks either."

Gary added that The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for up to two years of a child's life.

"Adrianne is simply trying to provide her daughter with the best nutrition she can while working full time," Gary said.

Russo's also claims that walking to the lactation room reduces the amount of breaks she can take to pump for her now 19-month-old daughter, her lawyer Matthew Luber said.

The suit alleges that after learning Russo was pregnant, Gordon made disparaging and unwarranted comments about her work performance. "For example, when defendant Gordon overheard a co-worker ask Plaintiff if she was planning on having another child, defendant Gordon stated to Plaintiff  " 'then you will really be useless,' "

Gordon also allegedly remarked to Russo, "Now, now don't offer to dance naked, no one wants to see that anymore."

Gordon was fired from RWJ Hamilton in June 2015, Russo's suit says.

"There is so much misinformation and misunderstanding about breastfeeding out there, but you would expect better from a hospital like Robert Wood Johnson," Gary said.

RWJ Hamilton officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Christian Reyes left his home in Perth Amboy Sunday night.

Christian ReyesPerth Amboy Police Department 

PERTH AMBOY - Police say they've found a teenager who had been missing from his home since Sunday night.

"Juvenile Christian Reyes has been safely located," police stated in an email alert Tuesday afternoon.

Reyes left his home in Perth Amboy Sunday night.

Police stated in an earlier email that they believed he had run away but was not in danger.

 

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

At the Global Dharma Conference, held at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center on Sept. 11, Hindu-American writer Rajiv Malhotra of Princeton was honored with the Pride of Dharma award along with Mahesh Mehta and Rajan Zed. The three received the award for "significant contributions made toward the protection, preservation and propagation of Dharma."

Interfaith panel comprised of theologians and leaders representing Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Sikh communities explores the framework of pluralistic world order for harmony and social justice. 

EDISON -- At the Global Dharma Conference, held at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center on Sept. 11, Hindu-American writer Rajiv Malhotra of Princeton was honored with the Pride of Dharma award along with Mahesh Mehta and Rajan Zed. The three received the award for "significant contributions made toward the protection, preservation and propagation of Dharma."

The Hindu Students Council, the organization that hosted the event, also honored Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living Foundation, Swami Dayananda Saraswati and HR Nagendra with the Light of Yoga award.

Some 40 scientists, theologians, academics and spiritual leaders attended the conference to discuss global harmony, science and mathematics, western feminism and a framework for a pluralistic world order. The Hindu Students Council is the largest Hindu students' organization in North America.

A raccoon has tested positive for rabies in North Brunswick, the eighth animal to test positive for the disease in Middlesex County this year although the first one for North Brunswick, according to the county's health department.

The first case of rabies in North Brunswick was reported this week, according to Middlesex County health officials who said it was the eighth case of rabies this year in the countyFile photo 

NEW BRUNSWICK -- A raccoon has tested positive for rabies in North Brunswick, the eighth animal to test positive for the disease in Middlesex County this year although the first one for North Brunswick, according to the county's health department.

Lester Jones, the county health officer, said North Brunswick's animal control officer responded to a call Saturday about a raccoon who appeared sick with a wobbly gate wandering in a residential area near Old Georges Road and Adams Lane.

Jones said the animal died and was sent to the New Jersey Department of Health Laboratory for testing. He said the animal hade no known human or animal exposure.

The results came back from the laboratory Tuesday positive for rabies.

Jones said the Middlesex County Office of Health Services continues to monitor rabies cases within the municipality. He said residents should report wild animals showing signs of unusual behavior to the police department.

He said residents should avoid contact with wild animals and immediately report any bites from wild or domestic animals to their local health departments and consult a physician as soon as possible.

Jones also recommends all family pets are up to date on their rabies vaccinations and licenses.

The health officer said rabies is caused by a virus, which can infect all warm-blooded mammals, including humans. The virus is found in the saliva of the infected animal and transmitted by a bite, or possibly by contamination of an open cut.

Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.