Law & Justice
By DANIEL HAN
June 27, 2020
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 ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The national outrage over George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis, Minnesota, police has brought into the forefront a Westfield man’s 2006 death while in police custody. Robert Villane, 35, died in November 2006 after Westfield police officers handcuffed and pepper ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Ny Moore stood outside Genesis Healthcare's Westfield Center for nearly nine minutes, eyes closed and silent. Holding onto a poster naming victims of police brutality, she thought of the pain George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died under the knee of police officer Derik Chauvin, ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy and Rep. Tom Malinowski knelt alongside 2,000 people in Mindowaskin Park on Sunday, a part of a protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, spurred by the death of George Floyd. Spearheaded by Westfield High School junior Nala Scott, 16, and fellow ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Student organizers are gearing up for a Sunday protest to be held in Mindowaskin Park and include tributes to George Floyd — a black man who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police. A 16-year-old junior at Westfield High School and the event’s principal organizer, Nala ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Contrasting larger and often jarring protests across the state and nation, demonstrators in Mindowaskin Park Sunday spoke of cooperation between law enforcement and the local community as they condemned police violence elsewhere. “Stop Police Brutality,” “Justice for George ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — News that the Westfield Police are using drones as part of its patrols created a stir on social media last Wednesday, but the department’s chief said the technology is common and appropriate for law enforcement use. Police Chief Christopher Battiloro told TAPinto Westfield that ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Employment attorney Fred Shahrooz-Scampato has been chosen for the seventh year in a row to receive the honor of Employment Litigation: Plaintiff by Super Lawyers Magazine. Each year, no more than five percent of New Jersey lawyers receive inclusion into this state's Super ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — (Updated at 1:33 p.m.) A professor at The College of New Jersey who said he first started experiencing symptoms of coronavirus 10 days ago is warning the public that the condition may not present itself how you think. Craig Hollander, a 38-year-old Westfield resident and history ...
TRENTON, NJ — All Municipal Court sessions have been suspended for two weeks as part of the effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, the chief justice announced this weekend. From Monday, March 16, to Friday, March 27, individuals scheduled to appear before a municipal ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Four police officers’ promotions were formalized, including the town’s first-ever woman lieutenant, during the Town Council meeting Tuesday. Four newly hired police officers were also sworn in. Police Chief Christopher Battiloro spoke proudly of the officers and reminded them ...
ELIZABETH, NJ — The Delaware man who admitted to bringing a loaded handgun and hollow point bullets to a school parking lot in Westfield offered a tearful apology at his sentencing Friday. Superior Court Judge William A. Daniel sentenced Thomas J. Wilkie, 46, of Bear, Delaware, to a 5-year term ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A 17-year-long veteran of the town’s police department has been appointed to the rank of lieutenant. Marcin Kapka, who arrested an armed carjacking suspect after a high-speed chase in 2010, is anticipated to be formally sworn into his new role on March 10, police announced.
ELIZABETH, NJ — Matthew T. Toriello’s opioid addiction followed a pattern that has become too common. To ease pain from a back injury, Toriello started taking a prescription painkiller six-and-a-half years ago, his father, John Toriello, said. It led to an opioid addiction that in June 2019 ...
ELIZABETH, NJ — A Westfield man caught with over 4,000 child pornography files was sentenced Friday to 10 years in state prison, authorities said. Gregory L. Brown, 38, a resident of John Street, previously pled guilty to one count of first-degree possession of child pornography with the intent ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Not yet 6-feet-tall, two saplings on Boulevard stand in stark contrast to the tall, thick shade trees forming the forest canopy of the residential street. A builder planted the saplings in accordance with a court settlement that brought him reduced fines for cutting down trees on ...
Updated at 10:01 p.m. Jan. 8 WESTFIELD, NJ — The Board of Education formalized the dismissal of an elementary school teacher, the result of a state arbitrator’s decision stating the district is justified in letting him go after he made repeated comments referencing his gun ownership in ways that ...
Updated at 5:20 p.m. WESTFIELD, NJ — The Delaware man arrested on the grounds of Tamaques Elementary School in June has pleaded guilty to second-degree possession of a firearm, authorities said. Thomas J. Wilkie, 46, of Bear, Delaware, entered the plea Monday at Superior Court in Elizabeth ...
ELIZABETH, NJ — A female corrections officer working at the Union County Jail has lodged a lawsuit claiming her supervisor made daily sexual overtures to her, and the county retaliated when she complained of sexual harassment. The lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Elizabeth Dec. 3 claims that ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A state arbitrator has ruled the Westfield School District is justified in firing a tenured teacher accused of making angry statements about his gun ownership, something the district claims created an atmosphere of fear at Tamaques Elementary School. The decision from state ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Jewish leaders in Westfield and across the state are examining security measures and closely following the investigation in Tuesday’s deadly shootout at a kosher supermarket in the Greenville neighborhood of Jersey City. UPDATE: Slain Jersey City PD Detective Likely Thwarted ...
BELMAR, NJ — A borough man faces multiple charges in connection with a June 1 hit-and-run that left two pedestrians injured, including a 23-year-old woman from Westfield, authorities said. Michael J. Spivak, 30, was arrested on Thursday by the Belmar Police and charged with one count of ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A priest abuse lawsuit filed Sunday claims that a late religious leader who served in Westfield for 17 years abused multiple children and that the church covered it up. The Archdiocese of Newark and Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church are named in the state court lawsuit claiming ...
ELIZABETH, NJ — Tammi and Todd Oberstein made official the adoption of a 15-month-old girl. Genna is the newest member of the family from Westfield, which was among those from across Union County at the courthouse’s Cherry Street Annex Friday for the official adoption proceedings for ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The family of the late Westfield High School principal who died from complications following his donation of bone marrow to a boy in France has dismissed the hospital at which the principal was treated from a medical malpractice lawsuit in the case, court records show. The suit ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The state police trooper who hit a 14-year-old Westfield girl while driving on Central Avenue in 2017 was texting in the moments leading up the fatal crash, evidence contained in the court record for a civil lawsuit against the trooper shows. While investigators cleared state ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A Clark man who was issued a speeding ticket in Westfield 10 months ago got that summons dismissed after numerous court appearances, significant legal expense and the intervention of the Union County Prosecutor's Office. Police pulled over Marek Kaplo, 37, on Jan. 13 for an ...
ELIZABETH, NJ — A Union County grand jury has returned a six-count indictment against a Delaware man found to be in possession of a gun, folding knife and 130 rounds of ammunition outside of an elementary school in Westfield, authorities said Wednesday. Thomas J. Wilkie, 46, of Bear, Delaware, ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A municipal court appearance set for Thursday was adjourned when the attorney for a Clark man accused of exceeding the speed limit 10 months ago showed up to the courtroom just as a special prosecutor assigned to the case was leaving the building. Municipal Court Judge Parag P.