Thursday, May 23, 2013
Richard Levens, of Randolph, has been suspended from the department.
A 24-year veteran West Orange police officer was charged Thursday with theft and has been suspended from the department, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Richard Levens, of Randolph, has been charged with third-degree theft and was suspended by township police department, according to Thomas Fennelly, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office. Levens, 45, has an annual salary of $123,156, according to NJ.com. It is unknown whether Levens was suspended with or without pay. The prosecutor's office deferred further information about Leven's charge and suspension to the West Orange police department. The township spokeswoman, Jessica Glicker, said the department had no immediate comment on the charge. Levens' lawyer, Charles …
West Orange TGI Fridays among those targeted by year-long investigation.
More than 1,000 bottles of booze were seized from 29 New Jersey bars by more than 100 state agents Wednesday at the conclusion of a year-long investigation called “Operation Swill,’’ authorities said Thursday. The investigation alleges the bars and restaurants—a dozen TGI Fridays among them, including the West Orange location—filled premium alcoholic beverage bottles with cheaper alcohol in an attempt to fool customers and increase profits, authorities have said. Customers paid for the premium brand, but were instead poured a non-premium substitute, the release said. Acting on tips and consumer complaints, samples were taken in January and February when ABC investigators visited 63 licensed establishments across the state and covertly …
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
State authorities seized various alcoholic beverage inventory and records on Wednesday morning from 29 bars and restaurants across New Jersey.
State authorities raided 29 bars and restaurants Wednesday morning, including West Orange's TGI Fridays in Essex Green Shopping Center, on claims they have been ripping off customers by serving cheaper alcohol as top-shelf. The year-long investigation, named 'Operation Swill,' revealed the 29 establishments allegedly filled premium brand bottles with non-premium alcohol to increase their profits, according to a release from Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The ABC launched its investigation after receiving citizen complaints, confidential informants and new technology used to test samples taken covertly from the licensed establishments by state detectives. Various alcoholic beverage inventory and records were seized on Wednesday …
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Car’s owner identified one of the thieves after vehicle crashed in West Orange, according to police.
An East Orange man was arrested Monday night in connection with a Bloomfield carjacking that led to a multi-town police chase before ending in West Orange. Waquint L Crawford, 18, of East Orange, was charged with carjacking, eluding and resisting arrest. A 20-year-old female Bloomfield resident was carjacked at gunpoint shortly before 11 p.m. Monday on Ampere Parkway, according to a Bloomfield police report. While responding to the call, Bloomfield Police Officer Sang Yoon spotted the victim’s red 2011, four-door Honda traveling north on Ampere Parkway, police said. Officer Yoon and Officer Robert Kish chased the vehicle to Main Street and Park Avenue in West Orange, where it struck a wall and was disabled, according to a Bloomfield police…
Monday, May 20, 2013
Kevin Beane, 47, of Newark, is being held on charges of theft, burglary and resisting arrest with bail set at $25,000.
A Newark man resisted arrest Monday afternoon after a West Orange family claimed the man broke into their car on Northfield Avenue, police said. Kevin Beane, 47, was arrested Monday at 1:20 p.m. at 81 Northfield Ave. According to the report, the West Orange family saw Beane in a red KIA as they parked their car in the lot on Northfield Avenue about six spots away. Upon returning to the lot, the family told police they saw Beane walking away from their car and thought it was suspicious. When the family got to their car, they saw the back window was shattered and called the West Orange police, the report said. The family reported, a Garmin GPS, emergency road kit and cell phone charger was missing. While reporting the incident to officers …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, 34, charged with killing Joseph Galfy of Clark.
Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, dubbed "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker," was arrested Thursday evening at the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Philadelphia by members of the Philadelphia Police Department, Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said. McGillvary has been charged with the murder of Joseph Galfy, Jr., 73, which allegedly occurred in Clark on May 12. McGillvary will be processed in Philadelphia and returned to New Jersey in the coming days. His bail was previously set at $3 million, and he will be lodged in the Union County Jail in Elizabeth, Romankow said. "I am grateful for the overwhelming response and dedicated effort by the public and law enforcement that led to this arrest," Romankow said. "I believe that everyone is a …
The men involved in the West Orange armed robbery in late April are also believed to be involved in 10 other armed robberies in area, including a store in Maplewood where the owner was shot.
The Essex County Sheriff's Office posted a $5,000 cash reward on Thursday for information that leads to the arrest of two men wanted in connection with 11 armed robberies of convenience stores, liquor stores and gas stations in towns in three North Jersey counties since Feb. 1, Sheriff Armando Fontoura said. The pair has been identified as the two allegedly involved in an April 23 armed robbery at the West Orange Krauszer's on Central Avenue, where two men allegedly assaulted an employee, tied up a customer and the employees and then robbed the store at gunpoint, the sheriff's office said. In the store robberies, the robbers have tied up the store clerks with zip-ties while cleaning out the cash register, Fontoura said. One of the men has …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The National Transportation Safety Board recommends reducing the limit. Some say it would save lives. Others say it's unreasonable.
One drink could be the standard for drunken driving – at least for some people if the National Transportation Safety Board has its way. On Tuesday, the NTSB recommended states lower the blood-alcohol threshold for driving under the influence from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. What do you think? Is this a reasonable proposal? According to a 2011 Mothers Against Drunk Driving report, the latest available data shows New Jersey ranked 31st out of 51 states (including the District of Columbia) in drunken driving injuries and deaths. That year, there were 193 DUI fatalities, MADD said. About 10,000 deaths nationwide a year are related to drunken driving. The NTSB says the lower limit would save 500 to 800 lives a year. Officials at the American …
'No single individual has contributed to the success of St. Barnabas more than our honoree tonight, Ronald Del Mauro,' said Barry Ostrowsky, president and chief financial officer of Barnabas Health.
Saint Barnabas Hospital unveiled the new entrance to its emergency services department Monday and dedicated it to the man who was instrumental in building it into the largest health care system in New Jersey. More than 200 people sat and stood outside the hospital’s newly constructed entrance yesterday to see the opening of the Ronald J. Del Mauro Emergency Services Pavilion. The $1 million renovation was named after the former president and chief financial officer who many credit with saving the hospital from bankruptcy in the late 1980s. “No single individual has contributed to the success of St. Barnabas more than our honoree tonight, Ronald Del Mauro,” said Barry Ostrowsky, president and chief financial officer of Barnabas Health. …
Monday, May 13, 2013
West Orange police are investigating a string of burglaries overnight this past weekend.
West Orange officials said three unlocked cars were burglarized this weekend throughout West Orange — including two on the same side street, officials said. One owner of a car burglarized overnight Friday on Stuart Terrace reported a baby car seat, valued at $70, and a bassinet, valued at $60 missing. An iPod, iPod charger and Armani sunglasses were reported missing from the second car Saturday morning, police said. Additionally, a car was burglarized of loose change on Longview Street on Friday night, according to the report.
West Orange
3:15 pm on Friday, May 24, 2013
It's telling that a West Orange police officer lives in Randolph, while the rest of West Orange has to live in West Orange. more ›