May 09, 2008

Guns & Hoses Battle By The Creek May 9th

GLOUCESTER CITY P.D.            VS.           GLOUCESTER CITY F.D.

"GUNS  &  HOSES" 

"BATTLE BY THE CREEK"

 

TO BENEFIT THE GLOUCESTER CITY LITTLE LEAGUE

 

MAY 9, 2008 @ THE MUSTANG FIELD JOHNSON BLVD AND MIDDLESEX ST

 

EVENT WILL BEGIN AT 5:30 PM WITH A PUNT, PASS, AND KICK COMPETITION FOR AGES 5 THRU 12

PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED TO WINNERS

(MUST HAVE TICKET FOR COMPETITION)

 

 

FLAG FOOTBALL GAME

WILL BEGIN AT 8PM

FOLLOWING THE PUNT, PASS, AND KICK COMPETITION

 

$3.00 PER TICKET

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT POLICE HQ'S, FIRE HQ'S, LITTLE LEAGUE AND MUSTANG FIELD ON DAY OF GAME

 

PRIZES WILL BE RAFFLED OFF AT HALF TIME

 

SPONSERED BY:

PBA #40   FMBA #51 

 

POLICE AND FIRE SERVICE VEHICLES ON DISPLAY 

Flag Ship Charters Coming to Gloucester City

Dscn2339

Flag Ship Charters will be docked in Gloucester City starting June 1 through the summer months. The ship will tie up at the north basin of the former Coast Guard Base, on King Street.

You can charter the ship for club meetings and events, weddings and wedding receptions, graduation parties,  anniversaries engagement parties, school reunions, showers , celebrations etc.

To learn more go their website: www.flagshipcharters.net

Originally the Flag Ship was going to be part of the City’s Environmental Day on Saturday, May 10. However because of engine problems the boat will not be able to make the event.

The proposed site for the New Methadone Clinic: Make sure you watch the Fox Undercover Video on the Clinic at the bottom

Proposed_methadone_clinic_005

Photos and captions by Bill  

Plans are in the works to turn this dilapidated building on North Broadway owned by the South Jersey Port Corporation into a Methadone Clinic that will treat up to 700 addicts a day. The property is located within 100 feet of the borderline that separates Gloucester City from Camden City. The windows in the building are all broken, trash is sprawl all about. From the appearance of the property it should have been condemned years ago.

Proposed_methadone_clinic_013_2 -Side view of the proposed new site for a methadone clinic on North Broadway near the borderline of the City of Gloucester and the City of Camden. Owned by the South Jersey Port Corporation, the property is overrun with weeds and trash. In the background is the incinerator that pollutes our lungs every day. 

If you or I owned this property we would have been fined and taken to court for not maintaining it. Why hasn't the South Jersey Port Corp. been taken to task for not maintaining it. How much of our tax dollars are going to be used to bring this building up to code.

Trucks drive past the proposed methadone clinic heading south intoProposed_methadone_clinic_016 Gloucester City.

Related Articles below:

Fox News-November 2007-The people of the City of Camden are locked in an on-going battle to revive their home and attract new residents and businesses. But Fox Undercover discovered a problem that could put a damper on those important efforts.

VIDEO Fox Undercover, Camden Methadone Clinic 

Urgent Message to the people of Gloucester City

Camden Group Opposes Move of Methadone Clinic

People to call:South Jersey Port Corporation, Director Joseph Balzano phone: 856-541-2425  (push O for operator)

Craig Remington, South Jersey Port Board of Director and engineer for the City of Gloucester City  phone 856-795-9595

 

5th District 

Senator Dana Redd (D)
The Victor Lofts
One Market St.
Suite 203
Camden, NJ 08102
(856) 225-9068
SenRedd@njleg.org

Assemblywoman Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D)
116 North 2nd St.
Suite 101
Camden, NJ 08102
(856) 541-1251
AswCruz-Perez@njleg.org

Assemblyman Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. (D)
Brooklawn Shopping Plaza
Rt. 130 and Browning Road
Brooklawn, NJ 08030
(856) 742-7600
AsmRoberts@njleg.org

Here is the link to the Camden County Freeholders Board, call  each one and send emails......speak out  now,  get involved!

Camden County Freeholders phone #'s & email adrresses

Gloucester City PAL Sponsors Kids Fishing Contest

 

Gloucester City PAL fishing club

Kids

Fishing Tournament

All kids 16 and under

Saturday May 10, 2008

12pm-3pm

Gloucester City marina

Jersey ave. & King st.

Philadelphia: Insult to injury

http://www.southphillyreview.com

Upon returning home from a police station to report a violent home invasion, a 27-year-old discovered the perpetrators had locked him out when they left the premises.

As the males were hauling out items they ransacked from the dwelling on the 600 block of Clifton Street, just off South Street, the victim saw an opportunity to run to the South Street Mini Station at Ninth and South, Detective Nancy Morley of South Detectives said.

At about 3 a.m. Friday, the victim was asleep when he heard a bang on his front door and thought it was his roommate who locked himself out. When the victim opened the door, three males forced their way inside, one armed with a black semiautomatic handgun, Morley said. The offenders demanded money and began robbing the place, taking two laptops; a 32-inch LCD TV; an Xbox 360; a cell phone; and a safe with unknown contents. Investigators did not have a value for the stolen items.

To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.

read more

Related: Philadelphia

 Related: Crime

U.S Air Force 2008 Air Expo McGuire AFB May 31 to June 1


Ae_logo_official_0308_3

The 305th Air Mobility Wing will host the 2008 McGuire Air Expo, FREE to the public, on May 31 and June 1, 2008. 

Event headliner is the

United

States

Air Force Thunderbirds. 

The base's own KC-10 Extender, C-17 Globemaster III and KC-135 Stratotanker will also be on display. 

Our "Above All...Be Inspired" theme captures USAF members desire to inspire others and provides a fitting conclusion to this year's Air Force Week in Philadelphia. 
For more info,

 http://www.mcguireairexpo.infohttps://mail.amc.af.mil/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.mcguireairexpo.info/>  or call (609) 754-1919.

<

Gloucester High Alumni member campaign director for Donna Ward for Congress

Hi Bill;

 

March_08_135_cr     We had a little correspondence a while ago in my quest to find a picture of the "Beefburger" in Brooklawn. Or was it the origin of the name "Hinky-dinks" for the proposed rail line that was never built and left its scar on Highland Park?

 

In any case, in recent weeks, a friend had decided to run for Congress, and asked me to manage her campaign. Knowing her core political beliefs, I accepted without hesitation, and am now the Campaign Director for Donna Ward for Congress (NJ District 1). Donna is running under Murray Sabrin's slogan of "Constitutional Republicans protecting the Liberty Platform".

PHOTO: DONNA WARD AND MURRAY SABRIN visit the Vietnam War Memorial in Gloucester City

 

It was a last minute decision on Donna's part, and our opponent, Congressman Frank LoBiondo, has at least $1.4 million in his campaign account, but we're undeterred. Donna thoroughly enjoys meeting and talking to people, understands the major issues and I know just enough about the process to be able to help.

 

    When Donna called and told me Dr Sabrin wanted to meet in Gloucester City, I was thrilled. I graduated GHS in '66, and though I've lived in a number of other towns and states, Gloucester will always be where I'm from. I don't know whose decision it was that we meet at the War Memorial, but it was, from where I stood, a good decision. I was a little surprised to find the WWI monument moved from its place on the opposite corner.

 

I was a 6th grade student at Monmouth Street School when it burnt down, and have always remembered the eagle atop the monument on the corner. 1st Congressional District candidate Fernando Powers was to meet with us as well, so Donna and I were a bit early and had time to sit and talk by the monument. For me, personally, the name on the memorial for Vietnam really hit home, having known a number of those listed.

 

    Dr Sabrin had said he was going to stop at the Gloucester City News after we had met, I hope you had a chance to meet with him. Having spent a considerable amount of time with him in recent weeks, I firmly believe he is exactly the kind of man that can understand the concerns of the people of Gloucester City and South Jersey, and express those concerns in Washington to the benefit of all of our futures.

 

Ron Brittin, GHS Class of '66

 

Campaign Director,

Donna Ward for Congress

www.donnawardforcongress.com 


May 08, 2008

Gloucester Firefighters battle pick-up fire in Audubon Park

Img_9698


5-8-2008  12:30hrs

Img_9700 Black Horse Pike and Kennedy Blvd

Audubon Park NJ

West Collingswood Heights Fire Company (Station 15-2) and Gloucester City Fire Department (Squad 51)  were dispatched to Black Horse Pike at the Walt Whitman Bridge ramp for a pickup truck on fire.

 

Battalion 504 (Huston) arrived to find fire showing from a pickup truckImg_9712 , Squad 51 and BLS 558 went into service and brought the fire under control with no injuries reported.

 

  *Note* Gloucester City Fire Headquarters Squad 51 is dispatched during the day on all responses in West Img_9728 Collingswood Heights on automatic mutual aid to assist with manpower.

Steve Skipton Photos......click  on photos to enlarge

 

Crime: 54 arrested in NYC-area Mafia raids

http://www.usatoday.com

A federal indictment in Brooklyn named 62 people, including the three highest-ranking members of the Gambino clan and the brother and nephew of the late John Gotti, the notorious boss who ran the family in its heyday. State prosecutors separately charged 26 others with running a gambling ring that took nearly $10 million in bets on professional and college sports.

 

Pinnacle's casino project looks dicey

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com

ATLANTIC CITY - The sprawling dirt site where Pinnacle Entertainment's $1.5 billion megaresort is supposed to rise will remain vacant for at least two more years.

Construction will start no earlier than 2010 - if ever - on the now-cleared land where the old Sands Casino Hotel once stood, Pinnacle Chairman Dan Lee said Wednesday while giving a cautious update on the project.

Lee put the odds of Pinnacle ever building the new casino at 50 percent, conceding that the property may be sold and his company could pull out of Atlantic City if the credit crisis continues.

read more

Only in New Jersey: Stevens Institute of Technology Vice-President Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

Velvet Paws

Come celebrate and shop for Mother's Day in Haddonfield.  Lots of events and sales throughout.  Velvet Paws is offering 10% off entire store.
 

New Jersey toll decision called unlikely before November

http://www.delawareonline.com

Codey, a Democrat, said he expected the Legislature to tackle the proposal after completing work on Corzine’s $33 billion budget and its $2.7 billion in spending curbs. Debate on raising tolls may last a year, and a proposal to add them on interstates 78 and 80 has little support.

State Senator Raymond Lesniak, who planned to sponsor Corzine’s initial plan to pay down state debt and fund roadwork through an eightfold toll increase, said last week he would introduce a pared-down version focusing on transportation needs. The plan would raise tolls by 50 percent twice over five years.
read more

Atlantic City: Coast Guard Locates Missing Fishing Crew

Posted: 07 May 2008 02:39 PM CDT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - The Coast Guard has located a fishing boat crew today and the boat they abandoned after it became disabled and started flooding about 34 miles off the coast of Sea Isle City, N.J.

Located were Thanh Van Nguyen, 54, of Camden, N.J., and Cu V. Tran, 22, of Pennsauken, N.J.

A rescue boat crew from Coast Guard Station Cape May, N.J., located the Master Les in Cape May harbor and took the two crew members who abandoned the fishing boat Alexander to the Coast Guard station.

Both men are reportedly in good health and in no need of medical attention.

A helicopter rescue crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., located the abandoned fishing boat Alexander off the coast of Sea Isle City.

Gloucester Catholic overcomes Overbrook's 8-0 lead to clinch a playoff spot

source www.nj.com

The Gloucester Catholic High School baseball team needed a win to qualify for the playoffs.

The team standing in the way Wednesday was Overbrook, which had already beaten Catholic to open the season and could clinch the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division outright with a win.

read more

 

Herd reaches playoffs
Gloucester County Times - NJ.com - Woodbury,NJ,USA
Brianna Roderiguez drove in what proved to be the winning run with an RBI triple in the top of the fifth inning to send Gloucester Catholic to a 3-2 win ...

 


Sam Carchidi: Baseball speed-up a good idea
Philadelphia Inquirer - Philadelphia,PA,USA
The South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame, located at the Camden Riversharks' Campbell's Field, is a jewel of a museum, a mini-Cooperstown, if you will. ...

 

Iron Man John Glazer

Did you ever wonder what it was like to be a runner before the “running boom”?
How about 50 years before the running boom? South Jersey native John Glazer was a runner from 1922 until the late 1960’s and kept detailed scrapbooks of all his races during those years. The scrapbooks are a time capsule giving a detailed, up close look into what it was like to live and run in Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia during this period. The scrapbooks also chronicle John Glazer’s feat of running in the biggest and best race in South Jersey at the time-- the Camden YMCA 4.7 mile street run 43 years in a row.
read more

source http://ramscrosscountry.blogspot.com/ 

Life is Good! A Day of Fishing in the Florida Keys

Tomtwahoo

Tom Tedesco, right, caught a 60 .lb Wahoo earlier this week while fishing off of Big Pine Key, Florida.  The man with Tom is Don "Big Tuna" Proffit.  He is from Albemarle Sound, North Carolina.  He and his wife Robbin are good friends of Tom and fish with him often.  That day they were on Don and Robbin's boat the "Caribbean Soul".

 

Tom's son Tim speared a fish about the same size yesterday but a barracuda took it before he could pull it in.  The one he is pictured with is a "Hog Snapper".

 

According to Tim, "We were out off Big Pine Key just inside Hawk's Channel and Pops pushed the fish to me and I hit it.  That is what he said anyway.  I think I was in the right spot and just got it with skill. But I learned it all from him.  This capped off a day and a half of missing and losing fish.  I also saw a nice Hawk's Bill Turtle just sitting on the floor waiting for something to swim by.  What a day!

 

The Tedesco's are from Gloucester City NJ. Related: Hunting and Fishing

Timmmyt_spear1

Buena Vista School District will start school construction

http://www.thedailyjournal.com

BUENA VISTA -- Construction for a new middle school originally scheduled to open in fall 2007 will finally get under way next month.

The state School Development Authority awarded a $17.9 million construction contract to Arthur J. Ogren Inc. on Tuesday, just a few weeks after Buena Regional School District identified the Vineland-based construction company as the lowest qualified bidder.

District Superintendent Walt Whitaker said the district just needs the official OK from the SDA before construction begins.

read more

In Response to They Saved, We Suffer

Re: They Saved, We Suffer

Bill,

This year it was $500,000 and I've never heard anyone say $600,000.  Also it was explained to the public exactly how this came about by me at a public meeting and in no way is anyone holding the police responsible.

Its cause is simple fiscal mismanagement, on the part of ex-governor Christie Whitman and unless our city fathers used this money for previous year’s property tax relief then they would also be responsible for the debt that now exists.

I had read the article the officer is referring to and it was the article used for reference in the explanation given to the public.

Mayor Bill James

DRPA HOSTS “READ STRONG” ON BATTLESHIP NEW JERSEY

    The Delaware River Port Authority is hosting a U.S. History day on the Battleship New Jersey on May 14th as part of the agency's READ STRONG Community outreach program. 

    READ STRONG is a reading and literacy mentoring program providing elementary school children the opportunity to experience reading and related activities outside the classroom.  The program consists of a group of students taking a field trip that focuses on a specific learning experience.

    In addition to U.S. History, the event will also focus on the significance of the upcoming Memorial Day Holiday and the history of the Battleship New Jersey.

    Taking part in the Program are the seventh grade students from the St. Richard School in South Philadelphia and the sixth grade students from the Pennsauken Intemediate School.  The students will arrive at the Battleship at 9:30am and leave around 1:30pm.

    DRPA CEO, John J. Matheussen, says "The DRPA is pleased to provide the cost of the Battleship Admission, transportation and lunch because it's important for students on both sides of the Delaware River to experience first hand the role played by the Battleship New Jersey in American naval history."

    Another READ STRONG event will be held in the Fall.       

The Delaware River Port Authority is a regional transportation and development agency.  DRPA owns and operates the Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry and Betsy Ross Bridges, and PATCO, the Philadelphia Cruise Terminal and the RiverLink Ferry.

They Saved, We Suffer!


Received via snail mail.....May 7, 2008

Bill,

073107_1327_lettersbell1 At the last couple of (Gloucester City) council meetings I’ve heard Councilman Brophy and other councilpersons tell the public that one of the budget problems the city is having is a $600,000 increase in police pensions. I am a police officer and it infuriates me when I see our political leaders intentionally misleading the public like this.”

There has been no increase in police pensions; the City is simply repaying a debt. They are in essence blaming the police officer for THEIR fiscal mismanagement when nothing could be farther from the truth.

Our current political leaders are not to blame for the problem but they sure as hell are to blame for the way they are handling it. They are turning the public against the police officers and using that to their advantage in current contract negotiations.

Other towns are laying off officers because of this.

The article attached explains everything and you can find it on the New Jersey State Police Benevolent Association (PBA) website. www.njspba.com. There are also contacts on that website you could reach out to for further verification if you wished.

I would like to know what Gloucester City did with all the money they did not contribute to the pension system for all those years. At least I would like to see our City leaders step up and accept responsibility for the fact that it was the City’s mismanagement of funds that led to this problem and not any increase in police officer’s pensions.

I know this isn’t a big deal to most people but it is to me and all other police officers in this state. I can’t get any answers but I thought maybe you could make it public.

You obviously have the juice to get answers and I like your style. You do a great job with your site and, as a city resident; I enjoy being informed so quickly.

I know it not a big story but whatever you can do, I sincerely appreciate.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Cop...............................

NOTE FROM BILL: I forwarded a copy of this letter to each member of council asking if they would like to respond.  Stay tune;  I will update the story as more information is received.

Related: Blue Line 

FROM THE DESK OF ROB NIXON

 

PFRS Pension Holidays and Local Governments - “They Saved, We Suffer”

 

From 1998 to 2007, local governments were given an unprecedented and lucrative opportunity to skip or reduce their required payments into the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS).  At the height of the Pension Holiday from 2001 to 2004, local governments contributed only 12% of their required PFRS pension and ERI contributions.  This lack of funding not only crippled the health of the PFRS today but also has placed local governments in the situation of having to make up for this reckless practice now, much like the person who overspends on a credit card and who regrets it only when the bill arrives.             click here for the full report

CBS3 Breaking News: Suspect Captured

Source http://cbs3.com/video/....................................

suspect captured 

Suspect_cardfloyd

Only in NJ: UMDNJ Cardiologists Admit They Violated Law

DEP AWARDS $3.2 MILLION IN GRANTS TO AID LOCAL WATER-QUALITY

Media Release May 7

Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson today announced the award of $3.2 million in grants to various local groups and government entities that will fund projects to improve the health of New Jersey's waterways.

"The surest path to clean and abundant drinking water is to protect and enhance supplies at the source," Commissioner Jackson said. "Stormwater runoff is the biggest threat to surface waters, accounting for 60 percent of the pollution in our lakes, rivers and streams. These grants provide the financial resources local governments and nonprofits need to tackle this type of pollution and improve the overall ecological health of their watersheds."

Each year, the nation's water suppliers and environmental agencies observe National Drinking Water Week to draw attention to the importance of protecting and conserving drinking water supplies, a vital resource that is often taken for granted.

One of many ways the DEP is working to protect water supplies at the source is through a program that provides grants for local projects that mitigate the effects of stormwater runoff on lakes, rivers and streams.

Stormwater runoff contains nutrients, frequently from the application of lawn fertilizers or excessive animal droppings, and other pollutants that degrade water quality. When improperly controlled, stormwater runoff also exacerbates erosion that leads to excessive sedimentation in waterways.

Reducing these impacts decreases the complexities and costs of drinking-water treatment while improving the overall ecological health and aesthetic value of New Jersey's waterways.

The grant program, funded by the federal government through a provision in the Clean Water Act, has resulted in important water-quality improvements, including significant reductions in the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen released to waterways.

In awarding individual grants, the DEP evaluates each project's ability to achieve high levels of pollution reduction, its likelihood of sustaining success, and its cost-effectiveness.

The following is a list of grant recipients and projects:

* Lake Musconetcong Regional Planning Board: $45,000 for efforts to control weeds in 329-acre Lake Musconetcong at the headwaters of the Delaware River. Seasonal weed harvesting will be funded for three years.

* Pequannock River Coalition: $32,000 for hand removal of inactive beaver dams in the Pequannock River watershed through Hardyston and Vernon. By impeding the flow of water, the dams contribute to an overall rise in water temperature that degrades water quality in the Pequannock River.

* Great Swamp Watershed Committee: $209,140 for projects to restore and protect 200 feet of eroded shoreline along Loantaka Brook and Kitchell Pond in Kitchell Pond Park, part of the Morris County Park Commission's Loantaka Brook Reservation. The project is upstream of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

* Monmouth County Planning Board: $1.08 million for implementation of projects to reduce the impact of stormwater runoff pollution in Ramanessin Brook. Projects include improvements to stormwater discharge pipes, stream bank restoration, and installation of a specialized stormwater-retention pond that filters pollutants.

* Camden County Soil Conservation District: $266,437 for a project to reduce sediments flowing into DeCou Run, a tributary of the Cooper River. The project involves stabilizing an eroding gully, creating a riparian wetland, and stabilizing an area cut by erosion downstream of the gully. A volunteer planting day involving residents of Cherry Hill as well as students and staff of Cherry Hill High School, located adjacent to the restoration site, will be held.

* Whippany River Watershed Action Committee:  $553,975 for completion of studies characterizing sources of fecal coliform pollution in Morris County's Whippany River watershed. The goal is to design and implement projects to reduce this pollution.

* Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority: $537,776 for completion and implementation of a watershed plan for about 15 miles of the Paulins Kill from headwater areas of Sparta and Andover townships to Paulins Kill at Balesville in Hampton Township. This watershed, part of the Upper Delaware River watershed, suffers from degraded water quality caused by development and farming.

* Rutgers University: $471,856 for projects to improve water quality in Morris County's Troy Brook watershed, part of the Passaic River basin. Rutgers has completed a regional stormwater management plan. The current projects include converting a retention basin into a stormwater filtration basin and reducing the impacts of impervious surfaces.


###

FBI Crime Tips: WI-FI SECURITY


Some Advice from the FBI
 
05/06/08  

 

Woman using portable computer with wifi connection in a public setting.

You’re at the airport waiting for your flight. With time to kill, you’re thinking of connecting your laptop to the airport's Wi-Fi to check your office e-mail...do some personal banking...or shop for a gift for your spouse.

But first, consider this: odds are there’s a hacker nearby, with his own laptop, attempting to "eavesdrop" on your computer to obtain personal data that will provide access to your money or even to your company's sensitive information.

Here's something else to consider: there are 68,000 Wi-Fi "hot spots" in the U.S. (see the graphic below for the top Wi-Fi countries), at airports, coffee shops, hotels, bookstores, schools, and other locations where hundreds or thousands of people pass through every day. While many of these hot spots have secure networks, some do not, according to Supervisory Special Agent Donna Peterson of our Cyber Division. And connecting to an unsecure network can leave you vulnerable to attacks from hackers.

How do hackers grab your personal data out of thin air? Agent Peterson said one of the most common types of attack is this: a bogus but legitimate-looking Wi-Fi network with a strong signal is strategically set up in a known hot spot...and the hacker waits for nearby laptops to connect to it. At that point, your computer—and all your sensitive information, including user ID, passwords, credit card numbers, etc.—basically belongs to the hacker. The intruder can mine your computer for valuable data, direct you to phony webpages that look like ones you frequent, and record your every keystroke.

“Another thing to remember,” said Agent Peterson, “is that the connection between your laptop and the attacker's laptop runs both ways: while he's taking info from you, you may be unknowingly downloading viruses, worms, and other malware from him.”

 

Top Ten Nations with Wi-Fi

Businesses that offer free or ad-hoc Wi-Fi often don't know their networks have been breached. Individual victims usually don't realize they've been targeted either until it's too late. That’s why, according to Agent Peterson, there aren't reliable stats on the number of these breaches, although the FBI does periodically receive reports on them. It's also very tough to trace a hack that originates on an open, unsecure network.

Agent Peterson explained that the criminal aspect comes into play once data taken by the hacker is used to commit a crime. If the hacker, armed with your personal or corporate information or access codes, tries to break into a secured network—whether it’s a case of intrusion, identity theft, bank fraud, theft of intellectual property, or any other type of crime—then law enforcement gets involved.

What can you do to protect yourself? Agent’s Peterson’s best advice is, don’t connect to an unknown Wi-Fi network. But if you have to, there are some precautions you can take to decrease the threat:

  • Make sure your laptop security is up to date, with current versions of your operating system, web browser, firewalls, and antivirus and anti-spyware software.
  • Don't conduct financial transactions or use applications like e-mail and instant messaging.
  • Change the default setting on your laptop so you have to manually select the Wi-Fi network you’re connecting to.
  • Turn off your laptop's Wi-Fi capabilities when you're not using them.

For more basic information on computer security, see our How to Protect Your Computer webpage.

New Jersey American Water is petitioning the board of public utilities to raise water bills

NJ Residents Could See Steep Water Rate Hike
CBS 3 - Philadelphia,PA,USA

HADDON HEIGHTS, NJ (CBS 3) ― Gas and groceries are getting more expensive and soon it may cost South Jersey residents more to take a shower or do a load of ...

May 07, 2008

Crime/Camden NJ: Drug Dealer Admits to Killing his Supplier

Environmental Day Celebration May 10

Gloucester City will hold its annual Environmental Day Celebration Saturday May 10 to promote public awareness about drinking water, water pollution and water conservation.

  There will be water contests, equipment demonstrations and a fishing tournament for children at Proprietor's Park/Gloucester City Marina, on King Street from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Gloucester City Business Association will have a Catfish Tournament.

  For information or to participate, call 456-0196.

 

FBI Media Release: CEO OF ELECTRONICS COMPANIES PLEADS GUILTY TO BANK FRAUD

PHILADELPHIA - Carl Walter Spitko, of Rydal, PA, CEO of Maintech, Inc. and Sentek, LLC, both now defunct, which had offices and a warehouse in Huntingdon Valley and Horsham, PA, pleaded guilty today to 11 counts of bank fraud and 2 counts of aiding and abetting, announced United States Attorney Patrick L. Meehan. Spitko was indicted January 11, 2007 on charges that he engaged in a scheme to defraud Wachovia Bank and its predecessor in interest, First Union, from August 2001 to January 2005.

Maintech was in the business of manufacturing, distributing and selling laminators for the printed circuit board industry, selling various spare parts relating to that equipment, and servicing that equipment, as well as related handling equipment and preheater equipment. Maintech had a line of credit with Wachovia Bank, secured by, among other things, Maintech's eligible accounts receivable.

At today's hearing, Spitko admitted that he had schemed to defraud the bank by doing a number of things, including falsifying the amount of Maintech's accounts receivable, which were the security for the loan; concealing money and property from the bank, once Maintech had stopped paying on the loan; opening up a new company, Sentek, in order to use and sell Maintech's assets to avoid repaying the bank; and giving money to an employee to pay Sentek's expenses, out of the employee's personal bank account, to hide the business of Sentek from the bank. The defendant's scheme defrauded the bank out of approximately $1,454,879.84.

At today's hearing, Spitko admitted that in spring, 2002, the bank learned that Maintech was overadvanced on its line of credit by over $1,200,000. After Wachovia entered judgments by confession against Maintech, the defendant and his wife, due to Maintech's defaults under the line of credit, the defendant tried to conceal assets of Maintech from Wachovia by transferring Maintech's assets, employees, vendors and customers to a new entity, called Sentek.

Among other things, Spitko admitted that he closed down Maintech on Friday, June 6, 2003, and opened Sentek the following Monday morning, June 9, 2003, in the same location, using the same employees, and simply giving his employees new cellular telephones. The defendant admitted that he operated Sentek as merely a continuation of Maintech, using Maintech's assets, employees, vendors and customers in order to defeat Wachovia's rights under the security agreement and his personal guarantee.

Spitko also admitted that in May 2003, before he opened Sentek, he gave cash and checks drawn on banks other than Wachovia, to an employee of Maintech and directed that employee to deposit the cash and checks into the employee's personal bank account and pay a vendor of Maintech and certain start-up costs of Sentek, in order to facilitate the creation and operation of Sentek, while hiding Sentek's existence from Wachovia.

Under the now-advisory Sentencing Guidelines, Spitko faces a likely sentence in the range of 46 to 71 months in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for July 31, 2008.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fort Washington Resident Agency, and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Mary E. Crawley.

 

 

Gloucester City Police Department to Partake in Nationwide Click It or Ticket Mobilization May 19 - June 1

MEDIA RELEASE, MAY 7th

Gloucester City -- Law enforcement officers from the Gloucester City Police Department will be cracking down on unbuckled motorists and their
passengers as part of the national "Click it or Ticket Campaign."

Beginning May 19 and running through June 1, local police agencies will conduct a zero tolerance seat belt enforcement campaign and will issue
tickets to motorists who are not buckled-up.

"Using a seat belt is the simplest way for a motorist and his or her passengers to protect themselves when on the road," said Pam Fischer, Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. "Motor vehicle occupants who buckle-up are between 45 and 75 percent less likely