The giant operation included charges against doctors and other medical professionals.

A doctor, a medical billing company owner and an MTA bus driver from Middlesex County were among the eight people charged in New Jersey this week as part of what federal officials are calling "the largest health care fraud and opioid enforcement action ever taken by the Justice Department."

Six of the eight charged in New Jersey hail from the state.

They include Anthony Pepe III, 40, of Cherry Hill, and Daniel Watson, 39, of Bellmawr, who allegedly worked with a Philadelphia man, Prussia Hing, 35, to sell oxycodone pills in front of the hospital where one of them worked as an anesthesiology technologist, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey.

Charged in connection with alleged fake health care billing schemes were Brian Catanzarite, 42, of Cedar Grove, Enver Kalaba, 36, of Old Bridge, Tiffany Marsh, 40, of West Orange, and Keasam Johnson, 34, of East Orange, the release said. Robert Agresti, 61, a doctor from from Essex Falls, New York, was also charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The wide-ranging investigation led to the arrests of 601 people across the country, the U.S. Attorney's Office said, including 165 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals for alleged health care fraud schemes. The office said 76 doctors were charged with illegally distributing opioids and other narcotics.

Some have already taken plea deals, but the three accused in the drug trafficking operation and arrested Tuesday, have not.

According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office and the federal court complaints, FBI agents used a confidential informant and an undercover officer to get inside the alleged drug ring from January to May, making eight controlled purchases worth over $25,000.

In court documents, FBI Special Agent Stuart Sobin said Hing was the source for the pills -- both pure oxycodone and diluted, pressed pills. He sold the drugs to Pepe, who sold them to Watson, who sold them to the informant, according to Stobin's sworn statement.

In Bellmawr starting in January, the informant made controlled purchases from Watson and introduced him to the undercover officer, who then made four purchases, Sobin said.

Eventually, Sobin wrote in court documents, the informant and Watson met Pepe while he was on break outside the hospital, and purchased the drugs from him there. Agents also watched Pepe exchange items -- once hidden in a surgical mask -- with Hing in his car at the same location, Stobin said.

During one conversation, Sobin wrote, Watson bragged that he was getting 100 to 150 pills a day from Pepe to sell. "We been cranking them motherf---ers out," he told the informant, according to Sobin.

"The idea of a medical professional taking a work break to push pills on the street, as alleged in the complaint, is at once disheartening and infuriating," Michael T. Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Division, said in a statement. 

Millions in prescription drug fraud

Also as part of the operation, two other New Jersey residents and a New York doctor have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud for using phony compounded prescriptions to defraud insurance companies and collect kickbacks.

The U.S. Attorney's Office did not say if the arrests were related to the multi-million dollar scheme federal agents uncovered stretching across South Jersey and into other states.

In that case, medical professionals, a compounding pharmacy, recruiters and public employees worked together to use fake prescriptions for expensive medications to collect insurance money that was then paid out to everyone involved. Because compounded drugs are specially mixed to order, they are much more expensive for insurance companies. Over a dozen people have pleaded guilty.

One of those arrested in this week's operation was Dr. Agresti, who admitted to defrauding insurance companies, including New Jersey employee health benefit programs, by prescribing medically unnecessary compounded prescriptions in exchange for $300 cash he received from the company marketing the prescriptions. His phony prescriptions cost insurers $8.9 million, the press release said.

Also pleading guilty this week was Catanzarite, who admitted that he recruited members of a gym he owned to work as sales representatives for the company that marketed compounded medicines.

Catanzarite convinced state employees to get prescriptions for compounded medication that they didn't need, so both he and the state employee could get the kickback. He also paid a nurse practitioner to fraudulently obtain compounded medication prescriptions, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

"Altogether, Catanzarite caused losses of at least $3.5 million and personally made over $1.1 million from the scheme," the release said.

Kalaba, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus driver from Old Bridge, pleaded guilty this week in a similar scheme. He acted as a sales representative of the medication marketing company and paid his colleagues "monthly cash bribes" and $100 per phony prescription they could obtain. He cost his insurer $2.9 million, the release said.

"Our investigation is ongoing to determine the extent to which additional MTA employees may have participated in this fraudulent scheme," Inspector General Barry Kluger of the MTA said in the statement.

Faking services

Two other New Jersey residents were charged this week for allegedly conspiring to collect insurance reimbursements for 800 chiropractic appointments that never happened, the release said.

The U.S. Attorney's office alleges that between 2016 and 2017, Marsh, a medical billing company owner, used her access to a chiropractor's billing software to generate false claims for services.

She worked with Johnson, a telecommunications company employee, who recruited employees to allow the claims to be made in their names for a cut of the proceeds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"At a time when many Americans worry about securing health insurance for their families, we've seen far too many instances where public and private insurance providers are raided for millions in phony reimbursements for compounded medications or non-existent therapy services," U.S. Attorney Carpenito said in the statement. 

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Adonis had a large gash on his neck when found, but is fully healed.

Adonis 

EDISON -- Adonis is an adult male domestic shorthair cat in the care of Hope for Animals.

Rescued as a stray in New Brunswick, he had a large gash on his neck when found, but he is fully healed.

Volunteers say Adonis gets along very well with other cats and is litterbox-trained. He is FIV/FeLV negative, neutered and up-to-date on shots.

For more information on Adonis, call Mary at 732-236-9305 or email mjeroland@gmail.com. The nonprofit Hope for Animals is a small group of volunteers that give a second chance to homeless and orphaned cats.

Shelters interested in placing a pet in the Paw Print adoption column or submitting news should call 973-836-4922 or email middlesex@starledger.com.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

DUNELLEN -- Downtown Dunellen is decked with flags for the Fourth of July in 1925. MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey The photo was taken on North Avenue (Route 28) and the Dunellen Jewelry Store is visible on the left. MORE: Glimpses of history from around New Jersey If you would like to share a photo that provides a glimpse...

DUNELLEN -- Downtown Dunellen is decked with flags for the Fourth of July in 1925.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

The photo was taken on North Avenue (Route 28) and the Dunellen Jewelry Store is visible on the left.

MORE: Glimpses of history from around New Jersey

If you would like to share a photo that provides a glimpse of history in your community, please call 973-836-4922 or send an email to middlesex@starledger.com. And, check out more glimpses of history in our online galleries on nj.com.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

The boy "winced" after the sip and Bergacs said she monitored the child's health to make sure nothing came of it.

A mother charged in the death of her 2-year-old saw the child drink a sip of a methadone dose around dinnertime but did not get medical assistance for the boy until nearly 10 hours later, according to court documents. 

File photo of Lynn Bergacs from her 2011 arrest

Lynn Bergacs, 34, who was charged with reckless manslaughter and endangering the welfare of the child on Tuesday, told authorities at first when she called for help to her South Brunswick home that she didn't think the boy could "get a hold of her medicine," according to an affidavit of probable cause, obtained by NJ Advance Media.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bergacs told police she had seen the boy take a sip of her methadone, which was in a cup mixed with water sitting on a low table, between 5 and 6 p.m. on May 14, according to the affidavit.  

The boy "winced" after the sip and Bergacs said she monitored the child's health to make sure nothing came of it, according to the document. 

At 3:38, early in the morning on May 15, the boy was found unresponsive and blue, according to the prosecutor's office.  

An autopsy found the child died from drinking the methadone that was prescribed to Bergacs, authorities said. Methadone is a drug often used to help ease opioid addiction, but can also be used as a pain reliever on its own.

On Wednesday, Bergacs appeared in Middlesex County Superior Court via video conference and pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to the prosecutor's office. 

She is set to appear again Friday in court for her detention hearing. 

In 2011, Bergacs was charged with stealing thousands of dollars from an 88-year-old woman and her disabled daughter to buy drugs. 

Craig McCarthy may be reached at 732-372-2078 or at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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First came the rainstorm, then came a colorful rainbow in the sky over Central New Jersey early Thursday evening.

Rutgers researchers are hoping that DNA will tell them where the longhorned tick came from and just how harmful it is.

Youth Advocate Program looking for mentors for kids in trouble

Help wanted: Advocates for Troubled Youth.

Forty-year-old agency with proven track record of success seeks caring individuals to work as mentors for kids who need guidance to stay out of trouble and rely on the strength of their own talents and gifts.

Part time. Pays $14-$15 an hour.

Must be from same neighborhood as youth served, have patience and a big heart. Must have an open mind and be able to see that inside most fledgling gang members or juvenile criminals is a kid who needs love and guidance.

For more information call (973) 624-1520.

Yes, this is serious.

The Youth Advocate Program (YAP), which for 40 years has steered kids headed for jail into productive lives through one-on-one mentorship and other interventions, needs people to get involved and potentially save a life.

"Our whole program is about keeping families together and reducing reliance on institutions," said Jeff Fleischer, the national CEO of YAP, who works out of the nonprofit agency's Newark office.

By institutions he means mainly jail. The kids referred to YAP come mostly from juvenile court. Some are serious offenders, with weapons and drug charges, or gang affiliation. 

"We don't refuse anybody," Fleischer said.

MORE: Recent Mark Di Ionno columns 

What makes YAP different from many other intervention programs, Fleischer said, is that the people involved come from the kid's own life, not from government agencies.

"When we sit with them and develop a program, we'll bring in who they want," he said. "Their parents, their teachers, their minister, a detention center worker they trust, even a gang leader."

Robyn Dawson, the Essex County program director of YAP, said gang leaders are remarkably compliant in "releasing kids with potential."

"They'll say, 'Yeah, this kid can do better,' and let them go," she said.

"When we go into some of the neighborhoods, we know the gang members are looking out for us," she said. "They respect what we're trying to do."

And, she added, "My car is always is exactly how I left it. I know they're watching it."

The program works like this: when a kid is referred to YAP, the staff gathers family and friends to help identify the strengths and interests of the young person, and what kind of behavioral treatment they might need.

The YAP advocates are people from the neighborhood who, as Fleischer said, "know the streets and the people.

"We sit with them and ask four questions," he said. "What do you need? What can we do to help? How can we work together as equal partners? And how can you give back?

"The key is to find their talents, and put them to good use," Fleischer said. "One of our guys was good in math. Now, instead of being in the youth house, he's tutoring other kids in math."

One young man, he said, was headed toward youth detention for a serious offense. During the intervention, he told the YAP team he was "good at fixing bicycles," Fleischer said.

For restitution for his crime, he was asked to fix a bunch of broken bicycles in police hands, and they were distributed to kids who needed bikes. After that, he got a job in bicycle shop, where he works as a mechanic.

On a larger scale, Fleischer talked about a major YAP interventions in Fort Worth, Texas, with members of warring Crips, Bloods and MS-13 gangs. It reduced prison intake by 42 percent in one year.

Here in New Jersey, there are about 1,000 kids in YAP program in all counties except Hunterdon.

All they need, YAP staffers believe, is someone who cares.

Joan Newton has been a youth advocate for 25 years, beginning in Middlesex County, and has mentored "over 40 kids" in 15 years in Newark, some as young as 11.

"I'm a people person. I always loved working with youth," said Newton, whose son is a New Jersey State Trooper. "I was a single parent and a lot of people helped me, so it's my way of giving back."

For Fleischer, 65, this has been a lifelong passion. As a kid growing up in the Weequahic section of Newark, he remembered a troubled neighborhood boy who would strip off his clothes and run through the streets naked. When police were called, the neighborhood kids would join the chase.

"I remember my mother telling me, 'he's got a problem, he's not an animal to be hunted,'" Fleischer said. "Then he disappeared. They may have sent him to Greystone or Overbrook. This was in the 1960s. I always wondered what happened to him, and how his life might have been different with the right program."

As a Rutgers College student and varsity soccer player, Fleischer became a Big Brother, then got a $1,400 grant to start an afterschool program at St. John's Episcopal Church for kids from a nearby housing project.

During his master's degree program in social work, he lived in a Perth Amboy project and worked with gang members.

One of his next stops was La Casa de Don Pedro in Newark, where the late Ramon Rivera threw him the keys to an empty warehouse.

"He said, 'build a youth center," Fleischer said. "That was all."

Using skilled plumbers and electricians, Fleischer put 30 troubled kids to work, learning trades as they built the center, which still stands today at Broadway and 7^th Avenue in Newark.

"This was in the early '80s, when crack was rampant, and the violence was bad," he said.

One of the boys from the project, Hakim Andrews, is just a few years younger than Fleischer and now works for the Newark Downtown District, helping to keep the city's business area orderly.

"I saw him coming in today," Fleischer said. "So, we have these relationships that last decades."

It remains that way. Many of the kids helped by YAP come back to work as advocates themselves.

"I think that is the key," he said. "Our model builds community. We are neighbors."

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook. 

New Jersey shelters and rescues have hundreds of animals available for adoption.

According to the Washington Post, new dog owners can expect to spend between $1,200 and $2,000 in the first year, and as much as $14,500 over their pup's lifetime for routine care costs alone. Unexpected accidents and illnesses also happen, and it can get expensive when they do.

Having the essentials can help alleviate the financial aspect of bringing home a puppy. Pet parents should plan for the following:

1. Good quality food: Read the ingredients to make sure the food is formulated for puppies and has meat as the first ingredient rather than food that is full of filler.

2. Comfortable bedding: Make sure the puppy has a warm and quiet place to rest.

3. Treats and toys: Treats are great training tools for a new puppy but should not make up more than 5% of his or her daily diet. When a new puppy comes home be sure to have a few interactive toys to keep them busy and help them learn to self-entertain.

4. Collar, ID tag, leash, and microchip: Safety is key. Microchipping a pet can save their life. Having a collar and nametag to identify the pet in case they get lost is also important.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

The whale was last seen Saturday afternoon and the Coast Guard has issued a warning to boaters

Officials are continuing to patrol the Raritan Bay area for a humpback whale that may have become tangled in netting or other materials. 

A Good Samaritan reported the possibly entangled whale Saturday, prompting the Coast Guard and New Jersey State Police to create a safety zone around the whale, officials said in a release. 

By 2:30 p.m., the whale had submerged and was not relocated after another half hour of searching. 

The Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries asks that boaters keep watch for the whale, and issued a safety reminder to stay 100 yards away from whales. Humpback whales can grow to be 60 feet long and can weigh around 40 tons.

"Safeguarding our waterways and marine ecosystem is the foundation to all of the Coast Guard's missions - this includes the marine life that inhabits the waters of New York and New Jersey," Capt. Jason Tama, commander of Coast Guard Sector New York, said in a statement. "The Coast Guard will continue to monitor any reports of whales in our waters and will promptly engage with our state and federal partners, to ensure the safety of our maritime environment."

Any whale sightings should be reported to Coast Guard Sector New York at 718-354-4353. 

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New Jersey hill underappreciated as Washington's hiding place

I grew up in the Watchung Mountains, in Summit to be exact.

Despite the name, the town is not the highest elevation; that distinction belongs to Preakness Mountain in Wayne. The mountains run from Campgaw Mountain in Mahwah, to Pill Hill in Far Hills.

If you take your arm and "make a muscle" it mimics the shape of the range, with the Ramapo Mountains at the fist and the Somerset Hills at the bicep. Summit is at the elbow, so neighborhoods on the northeast side of town look out to New York City and all in between, and on the southwest side, the view takes in Central New Jersey, down to New Brunswick.

Today is July 4th. Independence Day.

And this column is an ode to those mountains, underappreciated by historians -- overlooked for their critical role in the revolution. They were George Washington's favorite hiding place, and gave him quick access to iron forges that fueled his army. Their high points allowed him to monitor British troop movements from New York to New Brunswick, and respond by moving men toward conflict behind the safety of the mountains.

MORE: Recent Mark Di Ionno columns 

George Washington spent approximately 3 1/2 years of the eight-year war in and around these mountains, as he moved between the Hudson and Delaware rivers.

The Watchungs were also a place of great anguish for the Colonial Army: the horrible winter of 1779-80 at Jockey Hollow, when food was so scarce Washington ordered the horses be taken off the camp, so the men wouldn't butcher them; the smallpox epidemic, which left graveyards of soldiers at churches in Mendham, Succasunna and Basking Ridge; a mutiny in Pompton, which led to the execution of soldiers.

The mountains provided a sanctuary for Continental Army strategy. The nation's first West Point, an artillery officers' school, was tucked behind the mountains in Pluckemin, where The Hills development is today. At Morristown, Washington enlisted the French to send Rochambeau and 6,000 troops. From Somerville, he planned Sullivan's March, a war against Native 

Americans in Pennsylvania and New York State. The iron in the western hills beyond the Watchungs was forged into weapons and ammunition, safe from British takeover.

Of course, the New Jersey, as a whole, was also the site of inspirational victories. Trenton and Princeton, which turned the losing tide. Monmouth, the battle that involved the most number of men.

But three lesser known battles were centered around the Watchungs. First was the Battle of Bound Brook, on April 13, 1777, when the British came up from New Brunswick, to attempt to control the upper Raritan River at the base of the mountains. The British were somewhat successful, but not enough to hold the position.

The British again tried to penetrate the mountains during the Battle of Short Hills, in what is today Scotch Plains and Metuchen, on June 6, 1777, after Washington moved his troops from behind the second ridge of the mountains in Morristown, to behind the first ridge at Middlebrook. His headquarters was in the Nathaniel Drake House in Plainfield.

The final British push into the Watchungs came during the Battle of Springfield, in early June of 1780. Under the command of Prussian General Baron Von Knyphausen, 6,000 British, Hessian and Loyalist soldiers maneuvered up what is today Morris Avenue and Vauxhaul Road in an attempt to climb the Hobart Gap and attack Washington in Morristown.

The Gap was a convenient escape/ambush route through the first Watchung Ridge, which Route 24 now climbs at three-lane highway between Summit and Short Hills and descends into Chatham.

They were beaten back, but not before the wife of Rev. James Caldwell, the mother of 10 children, was shot and killed at the parsonage at Connecticut Farms, now Union. The incident is depicted on the Union County seal.

The Battle of Springfield was the last British attempt to conquer New Jersey. Had it been successful, they could have cut the colonies in half and controlled the major ports of the Hudson and Delaware, the two most important rivers in the colonies. After the defeat at Springfield, the British headed south. Washington and the French followed, and the war was coming to an end.

Washington followed the battle from Briant's Tavern on what is today the Summit-Springfield border.

When I was a young boy, we lived near Briant's Pond. There was a Newberry's 5 & 10 in Springfield where there was a mural of Caldwell standing on the steps of a church in front of line of American soldiers saying, "Give 'em Watts, boys!"

My father explained that George Washington was here. This was augmented by unrelated trips to Washington Rock in the South Mountain Reservation and the one at Green Brook to look at the views. Both were lookouts for the general on the first ridge of the Watchung Mountains.

In our town, there was a Beacon Hill Club and a Beacon Hill Road. They overlooked the Hobart Gap. I learned much later - not in school, but as a writer for this paper - that this high outcrop of Watchung rock was the site of one of 23 beacons along the high points of the Watchungs to be lit when "the British were coming."

The point of all this is education and New Jersey pride.

As I reporter, I learned much more about this history, enough to write a book called "A Guide to New Jersey's Revolutionary War Trail (Rutgers Press)," detailing over 350 war sites by exact address.

As a proud New Jerseyan, I've tried to spread the word, through many columns like this. I urged the state to adopt this slogan, "Do Something Revolutionary, Visit New Jersey." That was in 1999.

Educating ourselves about this history is as simple as following the geographic lexicon. Many of the Washington streets, sections and schools through the region reflect his presence. 

Historic markers from in Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Union, Middlesex, and Somerset counties tell the story of individual places, but nowhere is the whole story of the mountains explained.

So here it is. In our Watchung Mountains, George Washington won the war of attrition. The protection of the hills, and the great swamps that lie between them, kept the British at a long arm's length for 3 1/2 years of the eight-year war.

Our mountains, which can be seen from all our northern cities and envelopes a great swath of suburbs where at least one-quarter of New Jersey's population lives, made the war expensive for the British. They were impenetrable.

They are something for us to celebrate today.

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook. 

Now is the time to take precautions. The risk of drowning is present for everyone.

Darren Fordham Jr. was shot multiple times on June 30, Somerset County authorities said

A man found dead in a wooded area behind a school had been shot to death, and investigators are looking for anyone who may have seen something suspicious on the night of the shooting.

The shooting occurred around 1 a.m. on June 30 in the woods near Phillips Road and the Pine Grove School in Franklin Township, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael Robertson said in a statement.

Someone called 911 the next evening, shortly before 8:30, to report finding a body among the trees. Investigators determined that it was Darren Fordham Jr., 26, of Somerset.

Fordham was shot multiple times.

Investigators will not disclose where the shots hit Fordham "to maintain the integrity of the investigation," the news release said. The shooting does not appear to have been random, but a motive has not yet been determined.

Anyone who saw any suspicious activity or vehicles near Phillips Road and the school around 1 a.m. on June 30 should contact the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office at 908-231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police at 732-873-5533. Anonymous reports can be made through the app STOPit with the access code SOMERSETNJ.

This post has been updated with information from the prosecutor's office indicating the victim's name is Darren Fordham Jr.

Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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There are an estimated 30,100 transgender people living in New Jersey and about 1.4 million transgender people living in the United States. Watch video

For the first time, transgender people living in New Jersey have the legal right to alter the sex recorded on their birth and death certificates, under new laws enacted Tuesday by Gov. Phil Murphy.

There are an estimated 30,100 transgender people living in New Jersey and about 1.4 million transgender people living in the United States, according to a 2016 report by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. 

Here's how N.J. could soon give a big boost to transgender rights

People whose gender identity conflicts with their sex at birth face unique forms of discrimination that lesbian and gay people do not. Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality, lauded Murphy and members of the Legislature for "seeing that equality reaches everyone in New Jersey."

"Transgender people have long stood in solidarity with LGB people and here at Garden State Equality we make sure nobody is left behind," Fuscarino said.

Murphy, a Democrat, signed:

* A1718, which requires the state Registrar of Vital Statistics to issue an amended birth certificate to a person born in the state which bears the transgender person's name and sex. The law was named after Babs Siperstein of Edison, the first elected transgender member of the Democratic National Committee in 2012. 

The law removes the requirement that a transgender person had to submit medical records showing reassignment surgery had taken place.

"Our existing law does not support the understanding that gender reassignment surgery is no longer the only option for transitioning," said Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who sponsored the bill with Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen.

"By enacting this legislation, we acknowledge nonsurgical transitioning which usually includes physical, psychological, social, and emotional changes."

Former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, twice vetoed the bill during his eight years in office, citing concerns over fraud.

* A1726, which permits the person planning the funeral of a transgender person to request the death certificate reflect the person's identity. The transgender person may also leave behind a document "providing proof of clinical treatment for gender transition may be used to memorialize a gender transition."

* A1727, establishing a transgender equality task force "to assess legal and societal barriers to equality" and recommend future laws to prevent discrimination.

"Today is an important day for New Jersey as we continue to strive toward equality for all of our residents, regardless of sex or gender expression," Murphy said in  statement. "Allowing vital records to match gender identity is an important step forward that will allow transgender individuals to control the disclosure of their transgender status.

"And by creating a Transgender Equality Task Force, New Jersey can ensure that all residents receive the protections they deserve," Murphy added. "New Jersey will continue to stand with our LGBTQ residents in the continued pursuit of similar rights nationwide." 

New Jersey is the 17th state that allows transgender residents to change their gender on death records without proof of surgery, and the fourth state, following California, Oregon, and Washington, that will include transgender as an option on birth certificates, according to Garden State Equality's Director of Programs Aaron Potenza, who helped draft the birth certificate legislation.

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

Sheila and Bill Lidman, of Monroe Township, will celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary on July 4.

The Rutgers Police Department is investigating the assault, which took place Tuesday at the intersection of Abeel Street and Elijah's Way.

UPDATE: Police announced they arrested a suspect around 1:15 a.m.

Authorities in New Brunswick are searching for a man who they say sexually assaulted an ex-girlfriend and then hit a good Samaritan who tried to intervene.

The incident happened Tuesday around 5:27 p.m. at the intersection of Abeel Street and Elijah's Way.

The victim told police that she was sexually assaulted by an ex-boyfriend who hit her multiple times.

A bystander who tried to stop the alleged attack was then hit by a "blunt object," police said.

The man then ran away in the direction of George Street.

Both victims did not receive any serious injuries and declined medical attention.

Police said the man was about 5 feet 5 inches tall, had a thin build and was in his mid-to-late 20s. He was a Hispanic male and was wearing camouflage pants and a black shirt, according to police.

The incident is under investigation by the Rutgers Police Department. However, the victim is not affiliated with the university, police said.

The police department can be reached at 732-932-7211.

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

At least two towns said the vendor failed them.

At least two New Jersey towns -- Beachwood and Milltown -- said late Wednesday they would have to cancel their scheduled fireworks on the Fourth of July. 

It had nothing to do with the weather.

"The Fireworks Company that was contracted for the show was unable to deliver the product, at this time there is no rescheduled date set for the Fireworks," Beachwood Police  Department posted on its Facebook page Wednesday afternoon. 

Those fireworks were slated to go off along Toms River in Ocean County, which typically draws residents from numerous other towns. 

Milltown in Middlesex County also announced its fireworks wouldn't happen because of the vendor. 

"Unfortunately the fireworks vendor has failed the Borough of Milltown and could not deliver the fireworks as promised. There will be NO fireworks tonight. There is no makeup date," the town's police department posted on its Facebook page. 

Beachwood Police said a new fireworks vendor had been hired this year. 

"Unfortunately due to a complete letdown by the the company Fireworks Extravaganza we are unable to have a fireworks celebration tonight,"

Beachwood Mayor Ron Roma told Patch.com the vendor was Fireworks Extravaganza.

"The company said that they do not have a hazmat-licensed driver to deliver the fireworks," Roma told Patch. "As far as I am concerned this is completely unacceptable."

The Rochelle Park company was closed Wednesday and couldn't be reached for comment.

The 59-year-old rider was taking a hard left turn when his front wheel went off the shoulder of Broadlane Road in Monroe

A 59-year-old Camden County man died Wednesday after losing control of his motorcycle while rounding a sharp left turn, police said.

It was just after Noon when John DiCarlo was riding his 2001 red Harley-Davidson northbound on Broadlane Road in Monroe Township, Gloucester County, when he crashed after his front tire left the pavement and skidded onto the shoulder, Monroe Police said in a release Wednesday night.

DiCarlo, who lived in the Blue Anchor section of Winslow Township, was thrown from his bike and later died of his injuries at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, police said. It was about a third of a mile northof Winslow Road, police said.

According to witness accounts, DiCarlo was conscious after the crash and crawled to a nearby utility pole, before passing out.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook

There's possibly more to do in the Garden State in the summer than a person could fit in one season.

New Jersey is a great place to be in the summertime.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

Simply stated, there's possibly more to do in the Garden State in the summer than a person could fit in one season.  Here's a gallery of vintage photos that show people having fun in the summer in New Jersey.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

Police say they arrested the men, one after a police chase, who were attempting to steal thousands of dollars worth of beauty products

A late night robbery Wednesday at a North Brunswick warehouse led to three arrests and the recovery of the merchandise, North Brunswick police said Thursday afternoon.

A warehouse on Jersey Avenue near the location of Wednesday night's robbery (Google Maps)

Armed with a handgun, the three men assaulted an unarmed security guard and stole nearly $1 million worth of cosmetics from a commercial building on the 1600 block of Jersey Avenue, police Capt. Brian Hoiberg said.

The security guard escaped and called police. Upon arriving at the scene, officers saw the suspects attempting to flee the building, township police said in a statement. One of them jumped into a box-style truck and headed northbound on Jersey Avenue.

Officers pursued the vehicle until the suspect crashed it in New Brunswick, and police captured him when he tried to run away.

While police pursued the truck, officers found two other suspects hiding near the building and took them into custody, police said.

Police arrested Axell Mendoza, 30, of North Bergen; Alex Pelerigo, 50, of Elizabeth; and Jun Jang, 31, of Iselin, and found all the cosmetics.

The three men were charged with robbery, burglary, theft, possession of a weapon, resisting arrest and eluding. They are all in police custody Thursday.

The crime is still under investigation.

Gianluca D'Elia may be reached at gdelia@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @gianluca_delia. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Cops are investigating an incident in which a motorcycle went out of control, ejecting a female passenger

 A 28-year-old woman died early Wednesday morning after the motorcycle on which she was riding crashed in South Plainfield.

Police later charged the driver with drunken driving, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday afternoon.

The woman's name was not immediately made public.

The driver, Ruddy Custidio, 30, of Piscataway, lost control of the BMW motorcycle near the intersection of New Brunswick and Carlton avenues, the prosecutor's office said.

The woman was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, but died from her injuries shortly after.

Custidio has been issued multiple motor vehicle summonses, including one for driving while intoxicated.

The prosecutor's office said the incident is still under investigation.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Lt. David DeLair at 908-755-0700, or Detective Donald Heck at 732-745-8842.

Gianluca D'Elia may be reached at gdelia@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @gianluca_delia. Find NJ.com on Facebook.