Law & Justice
By MATT KADOSH
June 10, 2021
WESTFIELD, NJ — A mail carrier who worked at the Westfield Post Office bilked the government out of more than $10,000 in federal workers’ compensation benefits to which she was not entitled, authorities said. Federal authorities charged Aida Perez, 42, of Roselle Park, with making fraudulent ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A state Superior Court has overturned the Planning Board’s 2018 decision to deny a proposed subdivision on New England Drive that raised significant community concern. Last week, the court in Union County sent the decision back to the planning board. And while the board may ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A handgun and 130 rounds of hollow point bullets legally purchased in Delaware found their way into the hands of a man who brought them to an elementary school in Westfield two years ago an incident that was recounted on the House floor Friday as federal legislators consider ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Library patrons who fail to return materials and lapse in payment of late fees could theoretically find themselves stuck with an additional $200 municipal court fine, something that is anticipated to no longer be possible — starting Tuesday night. The town council is set to ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The town’s police chief on Thursday had praise for New Jersey legislators’ decision to overturn a state law that prohibited police from notifying parents of their children’s first-time marijuana offenses. Police Chief Christopher Battiloro pointed to the “extreme displeasure” ...
Updated at 7:52 a.m. March 28 WESTFIELD, NJ — A 2017 graduate of Westfield High School, 21-year-old Cindy Qiang was walking from her apartment to school last month when a man pointed at her and said, “let’s get some bubble tea.” Again, referring to the Chinese drink, the stranger said, “let’s ...
Bias incidents targeting Asian or Pacific Islander individuals increased by 82 percent in 2020, authorities said. TRENTON, NJ — Governor Phil Murphy, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) held a roundtable discussion on Tuesday on bias and hate crimes, one week after ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The high school principal and a town commission aimed at countering hate were scheduled to talk Friday after authorities discovered two swastikas etched in a bathroom stall at Westfield High School and a prominent Jewish leader called for the mayor to take a stronger stance against ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Employment lawyer Fred Shahrooz-Scampato has been chosen to be featured by Super Lawyers Magazine for his work in employment litigation for the eighth year in a row. Each year, no more than 5% of New Jersey lawyers receive inclusion into this state's Super Lawyers ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Bias crimes in New Jersey have risen significantly with the number of reported incidents jumping from 569 in 2018 to 994 in 2019 — a 75% increase, according to the state’s most recent bias incident report. Westfield saw nine bias crimes reported in that year, according to the ...
A peaceful protest against anti-Asian hate is planned for Saturday in Mindowaskin Park. WESTFIELD, NJ — Anger and sadness filled Lu Qiu following last week’s shootings in Georgia that left eight people dead, six of them women of Asian descent. “Society has regressed in a sense,” Qiu said.
WESTFIELD, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy signed three bills last month that legalize recreational marijuana in New Jersey. The “cleanup” bill clarifying how police may respond to minors in possession of marijuana is facing criticism from the Westfield police chief, but the bill’s lead sponsor is not ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A series of stickers posted on local streets in support of a white supremacist group were removed this week and later condemned by the authorities, who said they are investigating. Officials with the Union County Prosecutor’s Office said investigators are aware of materials found ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The owner of a landmark house wrecked in a 2013 fire claims in a lawsuit served this week that she lost profits, her property rights and suffered mental anguish as a result of the town’s denying approvals needed for rebuilding her residence. Lisa Varandas, owner of the Wychwood ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Family of the Westfield High School principal, who died from complications following his bone marrow donation to a boy in France in 2019, have settled a medical malpractice lawsuit in the case for $5.5 million, court records show. Sheronda Braker, fiancé of Principal Derrick ...
Free gun safety locks are available at police headquarters, the police chief said. WESTFIELD, NJ — The Westfield Police Department is among law enforcement agencies seeing a rise in firearms permit applications during the pandemic, and it may consider more education for the public on gun safety, ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A former Westfield public works employee claims that the town refused to provide him with personal protective equipment he had requested because his heart condition put him at greater risk of death should he contract coronavirus. The lawsuit filed by Christopher Bohnyak in ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — About a dozen supporters, most of them holding signs protesting human trafficking, walked from the Westfield Rescue Squad up East Broad Street and into Mindowaskin Park on Sunday while people dining outdoors cheered them on. While ostensibly held in protest of a heinous crime — ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Eleven attorneys with the law firm of Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C., were recognized in “The Best Lawyers in America© 2021,” which identified each as a top legal talent in their respective practice areas. In addition, Lindabury attorneys John M. Boyle and Jay ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — (Updated on Aug. 20) Attorneys are anticipated to exchange settlement positions this month in a lawsuit claiming that three Westfield police officers forced their way into a Mountainside woman’s home, humiliated her and wrongly arrested her in an incident the department has failed ...
SPRINGFIELD, NJ — A lawsuit brought against the Springfield School District by a social worker claims the school board fired her after she blew the whistle on abuses at the Edward V. Walton Early Childhood Center. Kara King, of Westfield, filed the suit in Superior Court in Elizabeth last month.
WESTFIELD, NJ — Joe Guidi stood at the edge of North Avenue and Elm Street in the rain, one hand waving to cars passing by and the other holding a sign that read “Honk 4 Black Lives Matter.” “I saw smiles and I saw thumbs up,” the 56-year-old Scotch Plains resident said of the cars that honked ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The parents of a Westfield High School sophomore who died in 2018 have filed a lawsuit claiming the school district allowed their son to be subjected to repeated bullying, including sexual assaults and racially explicit slurs, that eventually led to his suicide. The parents of ...