Monday, March 16, 2009

MORRISTOWN: Dealing in drugs and guns in Morris County proved lucrative for a Morristown man with a connection to a steady supply of cocaine and firearms.

Then came Friday, when authorities investigating the case since September descended on a Parsippany shopping center where a cocaine deal was allegedly supposed to take place to nab 25-year-old Jerome D. McEwen, arresting the man carrying a .38 caliber loaded handgun after a foot chase across Route 46, according to Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi.

Three other men were arrested Friday and the investigation continued over the weekend. Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the prosecutor's office at 973 285-6200 or the Morris County Sheriff's CrimeStoppers program at 973 267-2255 or 973 COP-CALL.

After McEwen was apprehended, one of the two men who were with him at the time, driver Kenneth Mateo, 35, of Elmont, N.Y, fled in a Chrysler Aspen, but also was arrested at 3:20 p.m., after a high-speed police chase from Parsippany to Montville, where the driver crashed and was taken into custody, Bianchi said. The third man, Patrick Chenet, 38, of Rosedale, N.Y., was picked up at the shopping center carrying a black computer laptop bag with over $10,000 inside, authorities said.

McEwen, also known as Brix, was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, resisting arrest, and multiple drug possession and distribution counts, and remains in the Morris County Jail in lieu of $350,000 bail.

Mateo and Chenet were charged with possession of a handgun, and Mateo was charged with eluding while Chenet was additionally charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute it. In total authorities seized over five ounces of cocaine valued in excess of $14,000.00 and three handguns, Bianchi said.

A fourth man linked to McEwen's illegal activities, serving as a lookout during at least one deal, Delfon Robbins, 32, of Morristown, was arrested on drug possession and distribution charges in Morristown, authorities said.

Chenet and Mateo are in the county lockup in lieu of $150,000 bail each, while Robbins is in the jail on $50,000 bail.

McEwen's activities have been on the radar screen for several months, after a Dover officer who was looking into a different case got wind of the drug dealing activity and notified the prosecutor's office, Bianchi said.

All told, the agencies involved in the case included the prosecutor's Special Enforcement Unit and Intelligence Crime Task Force; Dover, Morristown, Parsippany, Morris County Park police, state human services police, the county sheriff's office, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey State Division of Criminal Justice.

Bianchi said, "This operation was part of our continued focus on the Governor Jon Corzine's Safe Streets initiative and our partnership with New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram and Director Jose Cordero, who heads the state initiatives in the area of gang, guns and drugs. This is a program that keeps a law enforcement focus on those individuals who are the most violent offenders.

"These individuals were dealing in guns and drugs. This automatically puts you on our radar," Bianchi said. "And we are relentless when it comes to keeping Morris County free and safe from the violence, guns and drugs."

"These are significant arrests, shutting down a major source of drug trafficking in Morris County," Director Cordero said. "Prosecutor Bianchi continues to aggressively target his resources against violent criminals and gangs trafficking in drugs and guns."

Despite these pending charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt following a jury trial at which the defendant has all of his rights guaranteed by the U.S. and New Jersey Constitutions and relevant state law.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

MORRISTOWN: A 42-year-old man was indicted on attempted murder charges for allegedly trying to mow down a police officer on the street after a police pursuit, Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi said.

Fedele Joseph Goduto also was charged with eluding and multiple counts of aggravated assault as well as possession of heroin with the intent to distribute it, according to authorities.

The case unfolded in Morristown on Aug. 8 at 12:08 p.m., when police investigating drug dealing near the intersection of Speedwell Avenue and Henry Street tried to stop Goduto in his 1991 BMW, authorities said.

Detectives Robert Gibbons, Thomas Loia and Tyrone Jackson observed a narcotic transaction take place near Speedwell Avenue and Logan Place and requested patrolman Scott Weaver pull Goduto, who was allegedly involved in the dealing, over. Goduto refused.

Detective Sergeant Michael Buckley and Detective Keith Cregan joined the pursuit through Morris Township into Morris Plains up Mountain Way to Tower Hill Road, where there's a "No Outlet" sign and a cul-de-sac.

Goduto seemed surrounded. But Goduto drove up and over a curb to evade patrols and accelerated the BMW straight for Loia, who had exited a police vehicle to help apprehend the driver.

The BMW was struck on the passenger side by the front of Sgt. Robert Holtz's marked car, preventing the BMW from striking Loia.

Loia had to jump over an embankment to avoid being struck and dropped 15 feet onto a lawn, suffering a fractured right fibula.

Before Goduto was stopped, he drove into four Morristown Police vehicles, and a pickup truck that had been operated by another officer, injuring Buckley and Gibbons.

Despite these pending charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt following a jury trial at which the defendant has all of his rights guaranteed by the U.S. and New Jersey Constitutions and relevant state law.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

MORRISTOWN: Andrew M. Kimmel was suspended from practicing law in May 2006, but the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said that did not stop him from playing the part for two more years.

After police were told about his on-going legal practices, authorities charged Kimmel, 65, of West Orange, with the unauthorized practice of law.

Trouble for Kimmel started with a phone call in April to the prosecutor's Professional Standards Unit. Investigators were told Kimmel was suspended by the New Jersey Supreme Court on May 26, 2006 for failing to cooperate with the Office of Attorney Ethics during an ethics investigation.

Despite being ordered by a judge to stop practicing law, and being fined for contempt in August 2006 for that, he didn't end his unauthorized law practice.

His clients included a teacher who believed she was wrongfully terminated from her job at a school in Bergen County; a woman involved in a divorce; a computer networking company whose president had paid Kimmel $110,500 in legal fees between May 2006 and March 2008; the co-owner of a lawn service who paid him $11,250; a charter bus company owner and a plumbing, heating and air conditioner contractor who also paid Kimmel $11,750 for services performed while he was suspended.

As a result of the investigation Kimmel was charged with fourth-degree unauthorized practice of law.

Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi said, "Attorneys, like everybody else, must obey the law. When they do not, we are prepared to investigate and prosecute the matter. They, like all public officials, must not only know the law, they must follow it as well."

Despite these pending charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt following a jury trial at which the defendant has all of his rights guaranteed by the U.S. and New Jersey Constitutions and relevant state law.

Monday, March 02, 2009

MORRISTOWN: A Morris County corrections officer was charged with sexual assault and official misconduct after detectives said he coerced a man performing community service into allowing the officer to perform a sex act on him, Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi, Esq. announced Sunday.

Lon Sainato, 52, of Whippany, was charged yesterday and remains in the Sussex County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail set by Superior Court Judge Salem Ahto.

The alleged act took place on February 22, 2009 at the Cedar Knolls Fire House while the victim was performing his community service and while Sainato was supervising him in his official capacity as a law-enforcement officer, Bianchi said.

The victim, 30, was ordered to perform 60 days on the Sheriff's Labor Assistance Program (SLAP), a community-service program run by the Morris County Sheriff's Department. As a SLAP inmate, the victim is on probation and/or parole and is institutionally detained on those days on which he serves his SLAP sentence.

Bianchi said the investigation was conducted by his office's Sex Crimes Unit, Professional Standards Unit and Special Enforcement Unit in cooperation with the sheriff's Internal Affairs Unit.

Bianchi said, "The Morris County Prosecutor's Office has investigated and will now prosecute another public official who has allegedly violated their oath of office, and abused the privilege of honorably serving the public. This officer brought shame and dishonor to himself but not to an otherwise honorable profession and well-run agency. Throughout this investigation Morris County Sheriff Edward V. Rochford, Undersheriff Ralph McGrane, Warden Frank Corrente and the Correctional Facility Internal Affairs staff fully cooperated and assisted in this investigation. I continue to have full confidence in the Morris County Sheriff's Office Correctional Facility. The conduct of this officer in no way is reflective of the department as a whole."

Sheriff Edward Rochford said, "If these allegations are proven, this officer is a disgrace to his profession. He had control over another person and completely violated the public trust. There is no place in law enforcement for anyone who is alleged to have acted in such a reprehensible way. The Prosecutor's Office moved swiftly on this and I thank them for getting this person off the street. Officer Sainato has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of his court hearing."

Sainato was hired by Morris County in 1996. He has been assigned to the Sheriff's Labor assistance program for the past 10 years. He was earning $73,000 Rochford said.

Despite these pending charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt following a jury trial at which the defendant has all of his rights guaranteed by the U.S. and New Jersey Constitutions and relevant state law.