2011
Annual Report

Jeffrey S. Chiesa, Attorney General of New Jersey

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OAG Annual Report Overview

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Dear Governor Christie,
members of the State Legislature
and citizens of New Jersey:

It is my privilege to serve you, and to lead the Department of Law and Public Safety
as New Jersey’s 59th Attorney General.
The Department of Law and Public Safety is a dynamic, forward-looking agency
with a broad-based and vital mission.
In a very real way, the Department’s work touches the lives of everyone who lives in
New Jersey, works here or visits our state.
Of course, a major aspect of what we do involves fighting crime and keeping
communities safe. But the Department’s mission only begins there.
We have many other responsibilities including:
n	protecting consumers from fraud
n	preserving and promoting civil rights
n	ensuring the integrity of New Jersey’s casino gaming and horse racing industries
n	promoting safe driving and enforcing State traffic laws to ensure the safety of
motorists, passengers and pedestrians
n	keeping alcohol away from minors and preserving the integrity of the alcoholic
beverage industry
n	pursuing affirmative litigation to protect children, safeguard our environment,
protect the State’s financial assets, and accomplish other important goals.
n	working with our law enforcement and homeland security partners at every level
to protect New Jersey residents – and the State’s critical infrastructure – from
terrorist attack
As a Department, our commitment is to a course of action, innovation,
collaboration and, above all, public service. In the pages that follow, you will read
about some of the Department’s keynote accomplishments for 2011. I urge you to
also visit the Web sites of our individual Divisions to learn more about our mission,
and our work on behalf of New Jersey citizens.

						Jeffrey S. Chiesa
						Attorney General

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

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Table of Contents
Division of Criminal Justice........................................................................ 2	
Division of State Police............................................................................ 10	
Division of Law........................................................................................ 16
Division of Consumer Affairs................................................................... 20	

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Division on Civil Rights........................................................................... 26	
Division of Highway Traffic Safety........................................................... 30
Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control................................................... 34
Division of Gaming Enforcement............................................................. 38	
Racing Commission................................................................................. 42
Juvenile Justice Commission.................................................................... 44
State Athletic Control Board.................................................................... 48

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Division of

Criminal Justice
New Jersey’s unified, integrated system of law enforcement is unique in the nation. The
Criminal Justice Act of 1970 designated the Attorney General as the Chief Law Enforcement
Officer of the State. The Division of Criminal Justice has the original jurisdiction of the Attorney
General to investigate and prosecute criminal offenses of statewide significance. In addition to
its direct law enforcement operations, it provides oversight and coordination within New Jersey’s
vast law enforcement community. The mission of the Division of Criminal Justice is to protect
the residents of New Jersey by helping to coordinate and enhance the operations and policies of
law enforcement at all levels – state, county and municipal. More information about the Division
is available at www.nj.gov/oag/dcj.

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Division of Criminal Justice

Overview
Reorganized to address emerging crime
trends while maintaining effectiveness against
perennial threats, the Division charged
891 new defendants in 2011, obtaining
indictments in a number of high-profile
public corruption cases. The Division also
prosecuted street gangs and other criminal
enterprises for narcotics and weapons
trafficking, as well as acts of violence. In
addition, it targeted traditional organized
crime in ongoing prosecutions related to a
multi-billion dollar, international criminal
gambling enterprise, and a scheme to shake
down dock workers at the Port of New York
and New Jersey. In April 2011, the Division
reorganized by creating the Financial &
Computer Crimes Bureau, consisting of the
following specialized areas: major financial
crimes, tax prosecutions, mortgage fraud,
criminal and civil anti-trust enforcement,
securities fraud, money laundering, computer
crimes – including child pornography and
Internet predators – and forfeiture, civil
racketeering and civil remedies. A new
Specialized Crimes Bureau was created to
address the areas of motor vehicle offenses,
environmental crimes, bias crimes, casinorelated crimes, labor crimes, alcoholic
beverage control offenses, and cargo theft and
counterfeiting offenses. The new bureaus and
their predecessor, the Major Crimes Bureau,
filed 403 new cases in 2011. Going forward,
the realignment will ensure the most efficient
use of personnel and resources in these
emerging areas. The Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor opened 302 new cases in
2011 – triple the number opened in 2009.

Prosecuting Public
Corruption
The Corruption Bureau filed 42 new cases
against 60 defendants in 2011. It indicted
former Middlesex County Sheriff and
Middlesex County Democratic Chairman
Joseph Spicuzzo, along with two subordinates
in the Sheriff’s Office, on charges they engaged
in a jobs-for-cash scheme. Spicuzzo is accused
of collecting $112,000 in bribes from people
seeking positions or promotions in the

Sheriff’s Office. In April, the Bureau secured
an eight-year prison sentence against former
Assemblyman and Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph
Vas, who pleaded guilty to charges that he
received $25,000 in free home improvements
from a city vendor; had a vendor pay, and
secretly charge the city, for a $58,000 catering
bill; illegally funneled money into his
congressional campaign via straw donors;
rigged a public housing lottery; and used
$5,000 in city funds for personal expenses.
Vas was ordered to pay more than $400,000 in
penalties and restitution. In June, the Bureau
indicted three former high-level administrators
and a shop foreman employed by the Passaic
Valley Sewerage Commission for allegedly
directing subordinates to work on the private
homes of the administrators, or people close to
them, while the subordinates were on duty for
the PVSC. Also in June, the Bureau indicted a
suspended senior engineer for the New Jersey
Department of Transportation and an alleged
accomplice on charges of soliciting a railroad
company to fraudulently inflate the cost of a
state-funded railroad project and pay them
$325,000 in bribes.
In December, former Hoboken Parking
Utility Director John Corea pleaded guilty
to official misconduct in connection with
the theft of $600,000 in parking meter
funds by a Toms River contractor. The
Corruption Bureau will recommend that
Corea be sentenced to eight years in prison,
including three years of parole ineligibility.
The contractor also pleaded guilty and faces
a recommended sentence of seven years in
prison. Each man must pay $300,000 in
restitution. The former Director of the Passaic
County Garage, Paul Mariano, pleaded
guilty to a charge of official misconduct
and was sentenced to four years in prison
in May for stealing a large amount of cash
found hidden in a car that was seized by law
enforcement, as well as an engine from a
second vehicle. In February 2011, the former
director of the physical plant at the University
of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey,
Frank Watts, was sentenced to three years
in prison for accepting expensive gifts from
a contractor to whom he steered numerous
university contracts. In October, an engineer
for the Westfield, Tinton Falls and Scotch

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
Plains-Fanwood school districts, Kenneth
Disko, pleaded guilty to a second-degree
charge of making false representations for a
government contract. He faces a sentence of
three to five years in prison. Two contractors
and the former business administrator for the
Westfield School District also pleaded guilty
in the same investigation.
In January, three managers of Laidlaw
Transit Services, Inc., were indicted for
allegedly falsifying records and invoices
to overcharge Burlington County for
transportation services, including services for
the elderly and disabled.
The Corruption Bureau also filed and
prosecuted several major cases involving
defendants who stole from government
assistance programs. In October, a former
clerk for the Newark Women, Infants and
Children (WIC) nutrition program pleaded
guilty to first-degree money laundering for
conspiring with others, including two other
WIC employees who previously pleaded guilty,
to issue more than $1 million in fraudulent
WIC vouchers. The vouchers were ultimately
deposited into the bank accounts of more
than 20 WIC-authorized vendors throughout
New Jersey. Eight middlemen and vendors
have also pleaded guilty and face state prison
sentences of up to 10 years. The remaining
14 vendors were indicted in November on
charges including first-degree conspiracy and
money laundering. Two local administrators
of the NJ Home Energy Assistance Program
were sentenced to prison and a third was
sentenced to jail in 2011 for fraudulently
issuing low-income heating assistance checks
and benefits to themselves or family members.
A total of five local HEA administrators
responsible for fraudulently issuing more
than $100,000 in HEA benefits, as well as a
Paulsboro-based heating oil supplier, have
been sent to prison or jail as a result of the
investigation. In September, Elizabeth School
Board President Marie Munn and the spouses
of two other school district officials were
charged with theft by deception and tampering
with public records for allegedly falsifying
income information on applications for free
or reduced lunches for their children.

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Fighting Gangs &
Organized Crime
The Division’s Gangs & Organized Crime
Bureau filed charges in 107 new cases in
2011 and obtained a number of important
convictions that put gang members and other
violent criminals behind bars for extended
terms. In February Michael Anderson, the
leader of the Nine Trey Headbustas set of the
Bloods, was sentenced to 20 years in state
prison, including 10 without possibility of
parole, as a result of Operation Broadway,
an ongoing prosecution stemming from
an investigation by the Division and the
HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Areas) Joint Camden Task Force. A Camden
man, Manfred Younger, was sentenced to
78 years in prison after being tried in May
and convicted of murdering a 24-year-old
woman who was caught in the crossfire of a
botched hit in Camden. The Bureau teamed
with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s
Office in the trial and conviction in February
of Quemere McClendon on charges of felony
murder, conspiracy and weapons offenses
in the slaying of Keith Mason in Long
Branch in 2006. McClendon was sentenced
to 55 years in prison, including 40 years of
parole ineligibility. A co-defendant, Darnell
Stovall, pleaded guilty in May to aggravated
manslaughter and other charges, and faces
22 years in prison – including more than 18
years with no possibility of parole.
Richard Jenkins pleaded guilty to
aggravated manslaughter and conspiracy
to commit murder in the 2005 killing of a
Trenton man, Otis Jones, who was gunned
down because he showed disrespect to
members of the Gangster Killer Bloods.
Jenkins faces a sentence of 15 years in prison,
including nearly 13 years without possibility
of parole. Jenkins was charged along with
the leader of the Gangster Killer Bloods in
Trenton, Bernard Green, aka Petey Black,
and 12 other gang members in a racketeering
indictment stemming from Operation Capital
City, a joint investigation involving the
Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Trenton
Police and the New Jersey State Police. Green
is also charged in the Jones murder. As a
result of the racketeering indictment, the

Division of Criminal Justice
imprisoned Trenton leader of the Nine Trey
Gangsters, Robert “Snoop” Christie, pleaded
guilty in June to possession of a handgun
as a convicted felon and was sentenced to
an additional five years in prison without
possibility of parole. In May a Trenton man,
Trayle Beasley, was sentenced to 12 years in
prison for trafficking more than 50 guns from
Virginia to New Jersey, including an AK-47
assault rifle, to sell to gang members.
Two members of the Nine Trey Headbustas
were sentenced to prison in March 2011 for
the gang-related murder of Devin Thompson
in New Brunswick in 2008. Syree Hakins was
sentenced to 16 years in prison, 13 without
parole, and Tyrane Mathas was sentenced to
12 years in prison, 10 without parole, as a
result of a multi-agency investigation called
Operation Hardhat. In November, the Bureau
obtained an indictment charging the reputed
leader of the Netas street gang in Perth
Amboy, Danni Rivera, and a second alleged
gang member with first-degree kidnapping
for their roles in a kidnapping in which a
young man was beaten, taken to a motel in
Sayreville, and held at gunpoint. In March
2011, a suspended senior state correction
officer, Eugene Braswell, pleaded guilty to
charges of first-degree cocaine trafficking and
second-degree official misconduct filed by
the Bureau as a result of a joint investigation
with the State Police. Braswell faces 15-to20-years in prison as the leader of a drug ring
that trafficked 22 kilos of cocaine from Texas
to New Jersey. Five co-defendants pleaded
guilty and were sentenced in July to terms
ranging from seven-to-15-years in prison.
An Irvington man, Roy Winston Harte, was
convicted at trial in October for his role in a
drug ring that shipped more than 500 pounds
of marijuana from Arizona to New Jersey
using UPS and FedEx. He was sentenced
to 12 years in prison, including six years
of parole ineligibility. The Bureau obtained
guilty pleas from four co-defendants, each of
whom received sentences ranging from 10 to
18 years in prison. The charges stemmed from
a joint investigation involving the New Jersey
State Police and the Arizona Department of
Public Safety.

The Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau
obtained new indictments in investigations
involving major drug trafficking networks. The
Bureau obtained a first-degree racketeering
indictment in November in Operation City
Wide, charging 14 defendants as members of
a drug ring with ties to the Bloods that sold
cocaine, heroin and PCP in Camden. In May,
the Bureau obtained an indictment charging
13 leaders and members of a drug trafficking
ring that distributed PCP and heroin in a
violent section of Jersey City. That indictment
stemmed from a joint investigation called
Operation Wetlands by the State Police, Jersey
City Police Department, Division of Criminal
Justice, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In
October, the Bureau indicted 12 defendants,
including the alleged head, suppliers and
other members of a drug ring that distributed
heroin and cocaine in two violent Newark
neighborhoods, as a result of an investigation
known as Operation Red Storm. Red Storm
involved the Boonton and Newark police
departments, the state Department of
Corrections and State Police. The Bureau
also obtained numerous guilty pleas in 2011
in connection with Operation Empire, an
investigation that yielded indictments the
prior year related to the smuggling of wireless
phones and narcotics into Northern State
Prison by Corrections Officer Luis Roman.
Roman pleaded guilty in April 2011 to
racketeering and official misconduct. He faces
a recommended sentence of 14 years in prison,
including five with no possibility of parole.
Fifteen out of 19 racketeering defendants in
the case have pleaded guilty for their role in
the smuggling of illegal drugs and contraband,
and 15 out of 16 customers who received the
smuggled materials have pleaded guilty.
In its continuing effort to target traditional
organized crime, the Bureau in February
indicted a top official of the International
Longshoremen’s Association, Nunzio
LaGrasso, as well as a Newark police officer
and a third man. The three were indicted
in connection with Operation Terminal, a
joint investigation by the Division and the
Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor
into alleged extortion of money from dock
workers at the Port of New York and New
Jersey. In November, the Bureau obtained
guilty pleas from two other defendants

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
who had been indicted separately. One of
those men, Joseph Queli, pleaded guilty to
money laundering and conspiracy to commit
criminal usury. He faces a sentence of seven
years in prison under a plea agreement. The
Bureau also continued its prosecution of 32
alleged leaders, members and associates of
the New York-based Lucchese crime family
on charges of first-degree racketeering,
conspiracy and money laundering. They were
indicted in 2010 for allegedly running an
international criminal gambling enterprise
that involved billions of dollars in wagers,
primarily on sporting events, and relied on
extortion and violence to collect debts. In
December 2011, the Bureau took custody of
Frank Cetta, a fugitive who was arrested in
Costa Rica, where he allegedly ran an offshore
“wire room” that served as a hub for the
gambling operation.

Financial &
Computer Crimes/
Specialized Crimes
The newly formed Financial & Computer
Crimes Bureau filed major cases in 2011
targeting financial fraud and computer
crimes, including cases involving computer
theft, child pornography and Internet
predators. In the area of financial fraud, the
Bureau obtained an indictment charging
a lawyer, Michael Kwasnik, with stealing
more than $1 million from an elderly Cherry
Hill woman who had hired him for estate
planning purposes. The Bureau charged
Kwasnik in a second indictment with
stealing $324,000 from a personal injury
settlement that his law partner had recovered
for a married couple. The State also filed a
civil lawsuit charging Kwasnik, his father
and others with engaging in a fraudulent
scheme in which 73 investors, most of them
elderly, lost $8.5 million. Another lawyer,
Amodeo Gaglioti of Westfield, was indicted
by the Bureau on charges he stole $189,660
in closing funds entrusted to him as the
settlement agent for a home sale. The Bureau
also indicted an alleged New Jersey con artist
and his Canadian partner on charges they
posed as investment bankers and financial
advisors to steal more than $500,000 from
clients who were promised millions of
dollars in venture capital.
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In June 2011, the Bureau indicted three
men and their companies, including PRP
Enterprises, on first-degree conspiracy and
money laundering charges for allegedly
defrauding five freight brokers out of $2.6
million through an elaborate shipping scam.
The Bureau secured six-year prison sentences
against two men in 2011 who pleaded guilty
to conspiring to steal more than $390,000
by filing 151 fraudulent state and federal
tax returns. In April, the Bureau indicted six
men on charges they stole more than $2.6
million from lenders by filing fraudulent
mortgage loan applications. In January the
Major Crimes Bureau, predecessor to the
Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau,
secured a 12-year prison sentence against
mortgage broker Ronald P. Mas Jr., who stole
$3.8 million in funds from various mortgage
lenders. Mas was supposed to use the money
to pay off mortgages and other obligations
for real estate closings, but instead used it to
make investments in his personal Ameritrade
account. Under a plea agreement, Mas was
required to pay full restitution to the lenders.
The Major Crimes Bureau obtained a nine-year
prison sentence in January against a Bergen
County man, Samuel Serritella, who pleaded
guilty to defrauding investors of $1.7 million
by selling unregistered shares of stock in his
start-up horseshoe manufacturing company
and misappropriating investor funds for his
personal use. He must pay full restitution.
The Computer Analysis and Technology
Unit within the Financial and Computer
Crimes Bureau handled a number of
important prosecutions in 2011. In one
case, a five-year prison term was secured
against Daniel Goncalves, who pleaded guilty
to stealing a company’s Internet domain
name and selling it over eBay for more than
$110,000 to an unsuspecting buyer, in what is
the first known conviction for a domain name
theft. The Unit also obtained a guilty plea
from a Madison Borough police officer, James
Haspel, who was sentenced in December
to six years in prison for soliciting a nude
photo online from a person he believed
was a 13-year-old girl but who was, in fact,
an undercover detective of the State Police
Digital Technology Investigations Unit.

Division of Criminal Justice
The new Specialized Crimes Bureau also
pursued significant cases. In December, it
unsealed indictments charging 40 people
– including six former state Motor Vehicle
Commission clerks, 21 customers and 13
brokers and other intermediaries – with
participating in criminal rings that illegally
sold New Jersey digital driver’s licenses to
unauthorized persons at five local motor
vehicle agencies in Lodi, East Orange, Edison,
Jersey City and North Bergen. In September,
the Specialized Crimes Bureau indicted a
Newtown, Pa., man on charges that, while
serving as CEO of two Burlington Township
manufacturing companies owned by his wife’s
extended family, he stole more than $2.3
million from the companies though various
schemes. The CEO’s wife was charged in
connection with more than $1.2 million of
her husband’s alleged thefts.

Office of the
Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor
The Office of the Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor (OIFP) filed 302 new cases in
2011, including cases charging licensed
professionals with defrauding the Medicaid
program, private insurers or clients. In
August, Daniel Trolaro, a former North
Jersey insurance agent, securities dealer, and
certified financial planner working for the
Prudential Insurance Company of America,
was sentenced to six years in prison for
defrauding nine clients out of more than
$1.9 million and using their money to
gamble online. Prudential was awarded a
consent judgment against Trolaro for more
than $2 million, and he was ordered by
the court to pay $75,000 in restitution. In
July, OIFP arrested 11 people, including
three chiropractors licensed in New Jersey –
Scott Greenberg, Christopher Montana and
Fernando Barrese – for their alleged roles
in two separate schemes involving illegal
“runners.” The runners were used to recruit
patients whose “treatment” would facilitate
insurance fraud. In September 2011, Louis
Lisi was sentenced to 22 years in prison, with
nine years of parole ineligibility, for leading
a narcotics ring that defrauded Medicaid
and unlawfully distributed prescription pain
pills (OxyContin, Percocet) on the black

market in Hudson, Bergen, Ocean, Morris,
and Monmouth counties. A co-defendant, Dr.
Clifton Howell, pleaded guilty to a charge of
health care claims fraud. He was sentenced
to three years in prison and ordered to pay
$101,281 in restitution. Howell admitted to
knowingly causing a claim to be submitted
to the Medicaid program for a prescription
drug dispensed to a Medicaid beneficiary,
when in fact the prescription drug was not
dispensed to the intended individual. The
charges stemmed from Operation MedScam,
a joint investigation by OIFP’s Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit and the Jersey City Police
Department’s Special Investigation Unit.
To date, OIFP has secured 34 convictions
and recovered more than $500,000 for the
Medicaid program and law enforcement
through the investigation.
In August, home health aide Yvette Bullard
was indicted on charges that, while employed
by a home health care agency in Brick, she
stole $144,950 from an elderly woman.
In November, two pharmacists pleaded
guilty to third-degree Medicaid fraud for
their roles in a lucrative scheme in which
pharmacy owners and employees bought
completed prescription forms for expensive
HIV/AIDS drugs from indigent patients so
Medicaid could be billed for drugs that were
never actually dispensed. Nadeen Akhtar,
a licensed pharmacist, admitted that he
offered bribes to Medicaid beneficiaries to
induce them to bring their prescriptions
to Orange Drugs. Omar Mohammad,
also a licensed pharmacist, admitted to
knowingly submitting claims to the Medicaid
program for drugs that were not dispensed.
These guilty pleas were part of Operation
PharmScam, in which six pharmacies and
two medical clinics in Jersey City and Newark
were charged with participating in a multimillion dollar Medicaid fraud conspiracy. The
investigation identified more than 25 coconspirators, including pharmacists, doctors,
physician assistants, pharmacy technicians,
and Medicaid beneficiaries.
OIFP’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit
participates in state and federal “global” civil
cases pursuant to the federal False Claims
Act when corporate defendants knowingly
present or cause to be presented a false or
fraudulent claim to the federal Medicaid

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
program. In 2011, OIFP personnel led the
national team that negociated a False Claims
Act with Kos Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of
Abbott Laboratories. The national agreement
resolved allegations that Kos engaged in offlabel marketing of its cholesterol treatment
medications Advicor and Niaspan, and offered
illegal kickbacks to physicians and other
medical professionals, physician groups,
and managed health care organizations to
prescribe or recommend these drugs. The
total national civil settlement with Kos
exceeded $38 million. In 2011 the Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit recouped for the New
Jersey Medicaid Program more than $21.7
million in state and federal dollars via its
participation in 11 federal False Claims Act
settlements. New Jersey’s largest settlements of
more than $1 million each were reached with
GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis Pharmaceuticals,
Schwarz Pharma, Forest Laboratories, Elan
Pharmaceuticals/Eisai Pharmaceuticals, and
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals. An additional
$2.8 million is expected to be paid to New
Jersey in 2012 by Maxim Health Services
following a False Claims Act settlement
reached in 2011.

Other Initiatives
The Division of Criminal Justice played
an integral role in a number of key, publicsafety-related initiatives announced by
the Attorney General’s Office in 2011.
Substantial revisions to the Attorney
General’s Internal Affairs Policy &
Procedures were made to ensure that
complaints against law enforcement officers
in New Jersey are thoroughly investigated
and monitored by police departments and
the county prosecutors, and that individual
cases of misconduct and potential patterns
of abuse are appropriately addressed. In July,
the Attorney General’s Office announced
a number of stringent reforms designed
to curtail the improper prescription,
distribution, possession and usage of
anabolic steroids, Human Growth Hormone
(HGH) and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin
(HCG) among law enforcement personnel
and state and local employees. The reforms
followed an assessment by a study group
that was tasked to examine law enforcement
drug testing policies, the role physicians

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may play when these drugs are improperly
dispensed, the need for greater insurance and
prescription monitoring, and the cost to the
public. In September, the Attorney General’s
Office announced a new Memorandum of
Agreement to be executed by school districts
and law enforcement agencies to enhance
harassment-related school policies and
procedures, and to protect students from
bullying under the provisions of the AntiBullying Bill of Rights Act. The revised MOA
provides for coordination of efforts between
law enforcement and school officials,
particularly in cases involving conduct that
may constitute a crime or disorderly persons
offense. In 2011, the New Jersey Victims of
Crime Compensation Office continued its
commitment to providing quality services to
innocent victims of crime by awarding $10
million to victims. In addition, the Division
distributed nearly $3.6 million to more than
500 New Jersey law enforcement agencies to
buy body armor vests for officers.

Appellate Victories
The Division’s Appellate Bureau won
significant victories that continued to shape
state law in important areas related to law
enforcement including:

Amaya v. State of New Jersey:
A federal judge granted the State’s motion
for summary judgment and upheld the
constitutionality of New Jersey’s money
laundering statutes in a published opinion.
The court found that the New Jersey statutes
were not vague or overbroad, did not violate
the Commerce Clause, and that the inference
in the statutes was permissive and therefore
constitutional. The U.S. Third Circuit Court
of Appeals subsequently upheld the federal
judge’s finding on behalf of the State.

Division of Criminal Justice
State v. Steele:
The Appellate Division, in a published
opinion, held that the plain language of the
new mandatory pension forfeiture statute
mandated the forfeiture of “all” of the portion
of the defendant’s pension that he earned as a
member of the retirement fund he participated
in at the time he committed the offense and
that covered the position involved in the
offense. The court rejected the trial court’s
determination that it had the discretion to
limit the forfeiture.

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State v. Dorio:
The Appellate Division, in a published
opinion, affirmed defendant’s convictions
arising from a Division of Criminal Justice
prosecution for his role in a planned
bankruptcy or “bust-out” scheme. The
court found, as the State had argued,
that the indictment against defendant
Dorio was returned within the statute of
limitations period. n

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Division of

State Police
Members of the State Police work to protect the general public by providing statewide police
services including highway and marine patrols, criminal investigation and enforcement, intelligence
gathering, disaster management, homeland-security-related initiatives, emergency medical transport,
forensic science, laboratory services, and maintenance of criminal records and crime data. The
State Police is organized geographically into various “Troop” areas that are further delineated into
sections, units and bureaus that provide for intensified focus on such issues as street crime and
violence, drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime, disaster response, cyber-crime, casino
crime, and domestic preparedness. The State Police employs traditional law enforcement strategies
in conjunction with new approaches and cutting-edge technology to most effectively deal with such
threats as illegal drug distribution, violent gang activity, official corruption, Internet predators and
identity theft. More information about the State Police is available at www.njsp.org.

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Division of State Police

Violent Crimes Bureau/
Fugitive Unit
n Arrest of Lakewood Police Officer’s Killer:
As the result of a multi-jurisdictional task force
effort led by the State Police Mobile Deployment
Initiative, accused police killer Jahmell
Crockam was arrested in Camden city on
January 16, 2011. Crockam was wanted in
connection with the shooting murder of
Lakewood Police Officer Christopher Matlosz
two days earlier. Members of the State Police
worked with local, county and federal law
enforcement partners during 38 hours of
intensified police work to learn the whereabouts
of Crockam, a member of the Bloods street
gang, and capture him.
Arrest of Accused Killers Who Fled to Cuba:
In April 2011, the Fugitive Unit began aiding in
the search for Damien Leo, Denis Catania and
Dianna Camacho, three suspects wanted in
connection with the killing of 23- year-old Ross
Heimlich in 2010. As the result of an intensified
manhunt, Leo was arrested in Philadelphia.
However, Catania and Camacho had fled by
then to Cuba.
Through the efforts of the Fugitive Unit,
working with the U.S. Department of State and
the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force, both
Catania and Camacho were ultimately taken
into custody in Havana and returned to New
Jersey for prosecution in the Heimlich killing.
Heimlich, of Voorhees, suffered blunt force
trauma. His body was found in a burning car in
Hammonton in September 2010.

Cargo Theft Unit
n Reynaldo Su Cargo Theft Ring: Unit
members following up on information they’d
developed arrested three suspects at a recycling
facility in Hackensack on charges of receiving
stolen property and fencing. The three were
charged in connection with the sale of portions
of $550,000 worth of copper tubing stolen
from a warehouse in Carteret. Subsequently,
one of the suspects told Troopers he operated
a warehouse in North Bergen, and would
grant consent to search it. Unit members
then searched the warehouse and found the
remainder of the copper tubing – a total of 55
pallets had been stolen – as well as five trailer

loads of stolen wine and liquor, CVS pharmacy
products, FUBU shoes and jeans. Delmonte
canned goods and roofing supplies valued at
$650,000 were also recovered, and returned to
the victim companies.
Counterfeit Manufacturing Arrests: After
arresting several suspects for selling counterfeit
items at the Columbus Flea Market in Burlington
County, the Cargo Theft Unit learned of a
counterfeit manufacturing warehouse in Passaic
City. As a result, Troopers ultimately searched
the warehouse and found 20,000 pieces of
finished, counterfeit clothing items valued at
$1.6 million, as well as hundreds of thousands of
labels, packaging and blank clothing. In addition,
two, 2-head embroidery machines used to sew
the counterfeit markings on the blank clothing
were also seized. Troopers later arrested the
owner-operator of the warehouse on charges of
trademark counterfeiting.	

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Computer Crimes
& High Technology
Surveillance Bureau/
Digital Investigations Unit

n Operation Phoenix: As the result of a State
Police digital technology investigation, a
26-year-old Bridgeton man and a 20-year-old
Winslow Township woman were arrested,
and ultimately indicted, in 2011 on charges of
photographing a sexual act involving children.
In a connected case, a woman from Cape
May County was arrested and later indicted
on charges related to her alleged performing of
oral sex on an infant. Charged in the first case
were Gary T. Cramer of Bridgeton, and Rachel
L. Baker of Winslow. Cramer and Baker were
indicted in June 2011 on charges of aggravated
sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a
child and possession of child pornography.
The charges related to allegations that Baker,
at Cramer’s urging, used her cell phone to
photograph a girl and boy engaged in a sexual
act, and then transmitted the photo to Cramer.
Cramer and Baker were charged with five
additional counts of endangering the welfare of
a child, including possession and distribution
of child pornography, in connection with

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
other alleged pornographic photos of the girl.
In the related case, Stephanie Bennett, 24, of
Woodbine, was charged with aggravated sexual
assault and five counts of endangering the
welfare of a child. Using her cell phone, Bennett
allegedly made a video of herself performing
oral sex on an infant boy and shared it with
Cramer. As part of the investigation, the State
Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit
worked with State Police detectives at the
Woodbine Station and one of the suspect’s
cellular providers. A laptop computer and cell
phones seized as part of the investigation were
analyzed at the Regional Computer Forensic
Laboratory at the Hamilton (Mercer County)
Technology Center.

Casino Gaming Bureau/
Financial Crimes Unit
n Credit Card Theft/Conspiracy: The
Financial Crimes Investigation Unit began an
investigation into a large-scale credit card fraud
operation in 2011. Investigation revealed that
19 persons utilized stolen credit card numbers
to commit more than $350,000 worth of credit
card theft at Global Cash Access terminals
within the Atlantic City casinos. As of this
writing, 17 people have been indicted on
criminal charges related to the credit card fraud
operation, and are awaiting trial.

Intelligence Section
Organized Crime
Control Bureau/North

n Bloods-Related Heroin Mill Dismantled:
In June 2011 State Police assigned to the Drug
Trafficking North Unit were able to identify
an active heroin mill in Guttenberg that was
supplying much of the heroin allegedly being
sold by drug dealers tied to the Bloods street
gang in and around Newark.
Following extensive investigation, Troopers
arrested five men on charges related to the
manufacture of approximately 2,000 bricks
of heroin per week. Also arrested were Alexis
Alba and Elvis Paulino, two men alleged to
have been distributing the heroin manufactured
by the heroin mill. Recovered during a search
of the heroin mill were 1.5 kilos of heroin
valued at $75,000, one pound of crystal

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methamphetamine valued at $65,000 and more
than $9,000 cash. Additional items seized in
the search included grinders, cutting agents,
glassine bags, stamps and other materials used
in the manufacture of narcotics.
n Operation Fourth Down: During 2011, the
State Police Street Gang North Unit launched
an investigation into the narcotic distribution
activities of a Fruit Town Brims set of the
Bloods Street Gang. The Fruit Town group was
operating within the Fourth Ward in Paterson,
and had prompted numerous citizen complaints
about violence and narcotics distribution
activity. Ultimately, the investigation expanded
to include a wiretap, and resulted in the arrest
of 178 people for various drug and weapons
offenses. Seized as a result of nine related search
warrants were nine vehicles, eight firearms,
more than 5,000 decks of heroin and various
quantities of crack cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy
and xanax, as well as nearly $8,000 cash.

Organized Crime
Control Bureau/Central
n Operation Southern Draw: Following an
extensive investigation that culminated in April
2011, the Weapons Trafficking Unit of the
Organized Crime Control Central Bureau broke
up a gun-trafficking, car-jacking and document
fraud network operating in central New
Jersey. As a result of the effort, seven people
were arrested on multiple weapons trafficking
charges, carjacking, fraud, theft, receiving stolen
property and conspiracy.
Troopers also recovered two stolen cars and
seized 13 pistols, an Uzi submachine gun,
a rifle, ski masks, burglary tools, computers
used to create fraudulent documents, and
approximately $800,000 in U.S. currency.
Intelligence gathered during the investigation
revealed that a suspect had been trafficking
guns from the Fayetville, N.C. area since 2003.
The same suspect also had been using family
members to gather firearms in North Carolina
for sale to street gang members operating in
Newark. The investigation also exposed a

Division of State Police
group of individuals who, in addition to being
engaged in weapons trafficking, were involved
in carjacking and identity theft.
n Marijuana Cultivation Arrests: In January
2011, the Drug Trafficking Central Unit
developed information that a marijuana
cultivation facility was operating in
Franklinville, Somerset County. Surveillance
revealed that another possible marijuana
cultivation facility was located in Monroeville.
Based on information learned through their
surveillance, State Police detectives conducted
searches that resulted in the seizure of more
than 400 marijuana plants valued at $816,000,
packaged marijuana and more than $10,000
in U.S. currency. Seven suspects were arrested.
In December 2011, members of the Drug
Trafficking Central Unit developed information
that a house in East Orange was being used
as a possible marijuana cultivation facility.
Information gained through surveillance
provided probable cause for a search, which
resulted in the seizure of 307 marijuana plants
along with an additional four pounds of raw
marijuana. Three suspects were arrested.
n Alleged Weapons Trafficker Arrested:
During October 2011, Street Gang Central
Unit members received information from a
confidential informant regarding the illegal
weapons activities of Tamano Macalbe of
Middletown. According to the informant,
Macalbe was actively trafficking weapons to
gang members in central New Jersey. During
the course of the investigation, State Police
detectives allegedly made several undercover
purchases of assault weapons, handguns and
ammunition from Macalbe. After Troopers
learned of numerous alarming statements
allegedly made by Macalbe about seeking
armed conflict with law enforcement – and he
was observed carrying a firearm. – the Street
Gang Central Unit made a decision to arrest
Macalbe. On December 13 Macalbe was arrested
without incident at his home. State Police seized
two handguns and several hundred rounds of
ammunition from Macalbe’s car, and from his
home seized a loaded 9mm handgun, several
hundred rounds of ammunition, military body
armor and a small quantity of marijuana.

Organized Crime
Control Bureau/South
n Operation Jump Start: Twenty-eight people
were indicted on racketeering-related charges
as the result of a long-term investigation by
the State Police Crime Suppression South
Unit focused on drug distribution activity
in and around Camden City. As a result of
the investigation – dubbed Operation Jump
Start – Troopers were able to identify and
dismantle a large-scale, multi-kilogram
international drug trafficking network that
had been distributing cocaine, heroin, crack
cocaine and marijuana. Seized during the
investigation were 17 ounces of cocaine, 420
grams of heroin, 20 pounds of marijuana,
four ounces of crack cocaine and 733 decks
of heroin. In addition more than $500,000
in U.S. currency and assets were seized,
along with seven handguns ( including a
stolen State Police firearm), one shotgun, 11
vehicles, one boat, four properties and six
bank accounts.

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Other Highlights
n 151st State Police Recruit Class: On August
15, 2011, the State Police Training Bureau’s
Law Enforcement Science Unit began training
the 123 recruits of the 151st State Police Class.
Factoring in projected attrition, the class was
expected to add approximately 85 muchneeded new Troopers to the State Police ranks
by early 2012. The 151st State Police class
was the product of a robust recruitment and
community outreach program by State Police
in 2010. The previous State Police class – the
150th – had graduated in June 2009, and
the State Police ranks had declined steadily
through attrition in the interim.
n Office of Forensic Sciences: Despite a
staff shortage in 2011, the Office of Forensic
Sciences (OFS) maintained its accreditation,

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
forged new partnerships, validated /introduced
new laboratory tests, expanded services, and
successfully analyzed routine and major cases.
The OFS forged a new partnership with the
Division of Consumer Affairs in 2011, and
worked on the emergency categorization
of designer drugs known as “bath salts”
as controlled dangerous substances. Tests
were developed and the compounds were
identified within days so the designed drugs
could be emergency-scheduled. In addition,
all laboratories at OFS participated with
Consumer Affairs and local police departments
in the testing of drugs seized in sweeps at
Jersey Shore boardwalk shops, and at retail
outlets near college campuses. This resulted
in an almost 10 percent increase in drug cases
submitted to OFS.
The OFS’ CODIS Unit (Combined DNA
Index System) again generated more than
1,000 hits to the CODIS data base in 2011. One
interesting CODIS case involved a man who was
carjacked in Trenton before dawn and placed in
the trunk of his vehicle for several hours. The
carjacker then abandoned the car with the man
locked inside. However, the victim was able to
kick out the back seat, and was found bleeding
from a head wound. At the same time, a bank in
Hamilton Township was robbed at gunpoint, a
teller at the bank was shot in the stomach, and
the armed robber discarded several clothing
items upon fleeing. OFS processed the clothing
evidence gathered by police, and produced a
full DNA profile. Meanwhile, Trenton Police
developed a fingerprint from the trunk of the
hijacked car that came back to a convicted
offender in Pennsylvania’s data base. The
CODIS Unit asked Pennsylvania to search
OFS’ DNA profile from the bank robbery, and
it “hit” with the same convicted offender from
the carjacking. As a result, State Police were
able to inform the FBI that the same person had
committed both the carjacking and the bank
robbery and had used the carjacked vehicle
during the robbery.

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n Hurricane Irene Response: Hurricane Irene
made landfall in New Jersey early Sunday
morning, Aug 28, with winds of more than
75 miles per hour. In the days leading up to
the hurricane’s arrival, South Regional Unit
personnel aided in the mandatory evacuation
of all of Cape May County residents, as well as
the barrier island residents living in Atlantic
and Ocean Counties. To assist in this massive
undertaking – the first in New Jersey history
– two “Contra-Flow” evacuation plans were
utilized: the “SH47/347” plan in Cape May/
Cumberland counties, and the “SH72” plan
in Ocean County (designating State highways
that would be integral). The two plans were
designed to ensure the effective flow of traffic
away from the New Jersey coastline as the
hurricane approached. During this process,
thousands of coastal residents required
transportation, shelter, food, water and medical
care. State Police South Region staff worked
with their emergency management partners at
every level to ensure the health and safety of
New Jersey citizens. n

Division of State Police

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Division of

Law

Staffed by approximately 500 attorneys, the Division of Law provides legal counsel and
representation to agencies of State government on many issues vital to the quality of life of
New Jersey residents. These issues include protection of children from abuse and neglect,
preservation of the environment, delivery of quality health care, protection of consumers,
preserving the state’s financial assets, safeguarding civil rights and other issues. The Attorney
General has a statutory duty to serve as both legal adviser to all “officers, departments, boards,
bodies, commissions and instrumentalities” of State government, and to defend State laws. It is
through the Division that this mission is accomplished. The Division’s workload at any given
time is driven by a variety of factors, including the number and nature of lawsuits being pursued
by agencies of government, and by the volume of lawsuits pending against the State. In 2011,
the Division handled more than 39,000 pending legal matters and resolved or closed more
than 20,000 matters. The Division conducted more than 1,200 trials and 1,100 administrative
hearings throughout the year. To learn more about the Division of Law visit www.nj.gov/oag/law.

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Division of Law

2011 Highlights		
Through the efforts of Division of Law
attorneys, the State obtained more than $139
million in recoveries and judgments in 2011.
Settlements and judgments obtained by the
State included $53 million from lawsuits
related to alleged consumer, securities
and other fraud, $42 million through
environmental litigation, $20 million via
lawsuits related to debt recovery and $9.9
million through legal actions related to the
State’s tax recovery efforts.
Division attorneys achieved a significant
outcome in 2011 against defendant Casey
Properties of Montville in a civil mortgage
fraud case. The Casey Properties matter
involved a bogus mortgage and investment
scam that encompassed approximately
70 properties and affected 35 consumers.
Division lawyers obtained a combined
$14.7 million judgment against the
principal defendants.
The Division obtained a consent judgment
for $1 million against Best Interest Rate
Mortgage Company, a South Jersey mortgage
loan modification business, and its three
principals in 2011. The settlement resolved
civil charges that Best Interest required upfront fees in violation of the Debt Adjustment
and Credit Counseling Act, and falsely
promised to help certain consumers modify
their mortgages in violation of the Consumer
Fraud Act. The Division also resolved a
case against A&E Mortgage Company, its
mortgage brokers and its title company,
Complete Title, for $694,000. The case
involved a variety of mortgage fraud schemes
including sale-leaseback transactions that
stripped equity from homeowners.
In the State’s on-going effort to protect
the environment, Division attorneys
obtained a $15 million settlement with
three companies the State alleged were
responsible for discharging chromium waste
at more than 100 industrial sites in Hudson
County. Under the Consent Order, the three
companies must pay the State $15 million
to fund past site remediation costs, and to
complete work on contaminated sites that
have not yet been remediated.

Due in part to the efforts of Division
attorneys, two contaminated sites in Mercer
County will be cleaned up using funds received
in a settlement with the Motors Liquidation
Corporation, the successor to General Motors
(GM), which was in bankruptcy. Under the
agreement reached, a trust was formed to
provide more than $14 million to remediate a
former GM site in Ewing.
On behalf of the Department of
Environmental Protection’s Green Acres
program, the Division participated in 89
real property closings in 2011, which
preserved more than 3,900 acres for open
space, with a market value of approximately
$22.6 million.
Working on behalf of the Department of
Banking and Insurance, Division attorneys
prosecuted numerous civil insurance fraud
cases in 2011 under the State’s Insurance
Fraud Prevention Act, obtaining orders for
fines, attorney’s fees and costs totaling more
than $4.4 million.
In the area of civil rights, Division
attorneys handled a number of cases
seeking to assure that residents living in
condominium complexes are provided
with reasonable accommodations for their
disabilities. For example, in Frisch v. Mays
Landing Condominium Association, a
settlement was obtained ensuring that a
disabled resident would have barrier-free
parking near her unit. The condominium
association agreed to have its officers attend
training on the New Jersey Law Against
Discrimination, and to develop written
policies and procedures for addressing future
requests for disability accommodation.
The four sections of the Division’s DYFS
Practice Group continued to work closely
with the Department of Children and
Families in 2011 to protect children from
abuse and neglect and to find them caring
adoptive families when their biological
parents could not, or would not raise them.
For the year, the Division filed more than
4,000 child abuse cases in Superior Court
to protect children, institute services for

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
families, or if necessary, place children in
protective custody. When children cannot
return home safely, the Division files
complaints to terminate parental rights so
that the children can be adopted. In 2011,
more than 1,100 children were adopted
following successful termination of
parental rights.
The State treasury was protected
by the defensive legal efforts, and the
affirmative litigation efforts, of Deputy
Attorneys General working in such areas as
employment litigation, tort litigation, tax
litigation, bankruptcy and debt recovery.
On a daily basis throughout 2011, the
Division provided valuable legal advice to
various departments of State government to
assist them in avoiding potential legal issues.
Division deputies provided hundreds of
thousands of hours of counseling to “client
agencies” in such areas as professional
boards, community affairs, public utilities,
housing, labor, elections, health, education,
finance, transportation, employment and
contracting. n

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Division of Law

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Division of

Consumer Affairs
The Division of Consumer Affairs is responsible for enforcing laws designed to ensure
fairness and integrity in New Jersey’s commercial and investment marketplaces, and for
assisting consumers who may have complaints or questions about particular vendors or
service providers. The Division’s essential mission is to protect New Jersey consumers from
fraud and deception, and to ensure that the state’s licensed professions and trades observe high
standards of conduct. In addition to investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud
and other consumer-related violations, the Division provides information to the public on
a variety of consumer-related issues. More information on the Division is available at
www.njconsumeraffairs.gov.

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Division of Consumer Affairs

2011 Highlights

Reorganization of Office
of Consumer Protection
In a move designed to enable more
rapid response to consumer complaints,
provide investigators the ability to take on
more cases, and ensure the most effective
enforcement, the Division reorganized its
Office of Consumer Protection in 2011.
The reorganization included creation of
a Financial Fraud Unit, which is tasked to
investigate unlicensed companies that solicit
for mortgage loan modification services –
many of which fail to perform the services
they advertise, leaving financially-distressed
homeowners in even greater difficulty.
Through reorganization of the Consumer
Protection office, the Division was able to
take on a greater number of undercover
investigations and sting operations, targeting
unregistered home improvement contractors,
unlicensed movers, predatory towers and
other unscrupulous operators.
The reorganization included revamping of
the Consumer Service Center hotline, which
is now staffed by investigators and customer
service professionals, to ensure the Division
is immediately responsive to consumer
complaints. The Consumer Service Center
often receives more than 1,000 calls per
week, and has a resolution rate of close to
100 percent for all calls.

Proactive Investigations
n Unregistered Contractors: In March
2011, the Division launched a new fieldbased, mobile monitoring and enforcement
initiative targeting unregistered and noncompliant home improvement contractors.
As a result of the effort, 61 individuals
were cited for operating as unregistered
contractors. Some unregistered operators
were cited as the result of an undercover
initiative in which Division investigators
– parked in an unmarked truck in the lots
of home improvement stores across New
Jersey – observed contractors without the
required State registration information
on their commercial trucks. Contractors
cited as a result of this “undercover truck”
initiative were charged with soliciting for
home improvement work despite failing to
comply with the Contractors’ Registration
Act and state Home Improvement

Contractor Regulations. There were also
two “Undercover House” stings – one
conducted in a vacant Paulsboro home
in mid-March, the second in a stormdamaged dwelling in Lyndhurst in October.
In each case, contractors were invited to
inspect the homes and provide estimates
for improvement and/or repair work.
The “sting” operations drew a number of
operators who were unregistered and/or not
in compliance with the State’s requirement
that they display required identifying
information on their trucks. At least one
unregistered contractor had a California
driver’s license, a Massachusetts license plate
and a New Jersey post office box.
n Unlicensed Movers: In July 2011, the
Division charged 25 unlicensed moving
companies and imposed fines of up to
$2,500 each as part of a four-day undercover
initiative dubbed “Operation Mother’s
Attic.” In the operation’s initial phase,
Division investigators posed as consumers
who needed to move personal items out
of storage and into a house. They booked
appointments with unlicensed movers who
advertised on Craigslist or other Web sites.
Of the 25 unlicensed movers who were
contacted, a total of 17 moving companies
responded by sending workers to a selfstorage facility in Bridgewater – and
unwittingly into the second phase of the
operation. During this second phase, the
movers were stopped and questioned by
Division investigators, as well as by State
Police, who checked driver and vehicle
records, and inspected their trucks for
mechanical defects. The operation revealed
a number of violations, in addition to the
fact thee movers were unlicensed. One
moving company employee was arrested on
an outstanding warrant, and released to the
custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement. Another company had its
vehicle impounded for operating without
proper registration. Two movers were in
possession of suspended driver’s licenses.
n Predatory Towing: The Division
took action against a total of six towing
companies during 2011 as part of a
crackdown on predatory towing practices. In
March 2011, the Division filed suit against
PMM Towing, of Maplewood, for alleged
predatory towing practices, and entered into
settlements with EZ Towing and Recovery
Inc., and Danny’s Towing, both of Jersey

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
City. In June the Division filed suit against
Gilliam Towing, of Irvington, for predatory
practices. As part of the crackdown, the
Division disseminated information to help
consumers understand their rights under
State laws governing towing contractors.
Among other things, the Division advised
the public, New Jersey’s Predatory Towing
Prevention Act prohibits towing companies
from trolling (cruising) for vehicles
parked without authorization, paying for
information about vehicles that are parked
unlawfully or without authorization, and
failing to release a vehicle that has been
hooked or lifted, but has not actually been
removed from private property, upon request
of the vehicle’s owner.

Crackdown on
Prescription Drug Abuse
Overview

Working with local law enforcement and
public health care agencies, the Division
launched a coordinated effort in 2011 to
address the growing national problem of
prescription drug abuse, and the illegal
diversion of potent prescription drugs such
as the painkiller Oxycodone. In addition, the
Division attacked the dangerous problem of
so-called designer drugs, such as bath salts.
Bath salts are a powder that is inhaled,
ingested or smoked for its amphetamine or
cocaine-like effect. Users have referred to
bath salts as “fake cocaine.” The drugs are
synthetic derivitaves of cathinone, a substance
that comes from a shrub grown in Africa.
Cathinone is a Schedule I controlled substance
under the federal Controlled Substances Act.
The contents of individual packets of bath salts
tend to vary, but generally include at least one
of six chemicals.

Designer Drug Ban
In April 2011, the Division enacted an
emergency ban on bath salts and immediately
launched an aggressive public awareness
campaign targeting law enforcement, colleges
and universities, as well as retailers known to
have sold the substances when they were legal.
The Division’s Enforcement Bureau worked
closely with law enforcement on undercover
investigations at boardwalk shops and other
locations suspected of selling the drugs.
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Investigators in the Enforcement Bureau
and the Office of Consumer Protection
worked with local law enforcement agencies
and seized or voluntary obtained more than
2,900 packets of suspected designer drugs.
The substances were taken from more
than 30 different shopkeepers, and had
an estimated total value of approximately
$75,000. As part of the effort, police arrested
six people who allegedly had sold unlawful
designer drugs.

New Jersey Prescription
Monitoring Program
The Division worked throughout 2011
laying groundwork for the New Jersey
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program,
which was to launch in early 2012. The
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program is
an important component of the Division’s
broader effort to halt the abuse and diversion
of prescription drugs through a host of
enforcement and awareness-related activities.
The Monitoring Program is an active
database that collects information on
transactions involving Controlled Dangerous
Substances (CDS) and Human Growth
Hormone (HGH) dispensed via prescription
– both in New Jersey and by out-of-state
pharmacies dispensing into New Jersey.
Since September 1, 2011, the database has
collected detailed information on more than
2.8 million prescriptions.
From the point of view of physicians and
other prescribers, the Monitoring Program is
an important tool for better-informed patient
care. From a public health and safety point
of view, it will help detect signs of “doctor
shopping” – a practice in which people visit
multiple practitioners in order to obtain drugs
for abuse. It will also help flag the fraudulent
activities of “pill mills” – health care operations
that misuse their authority to prescribe
or dispense narcotics and human growth
hormone by providing bogus prescriptions
that enable consumers to abuse them.

Division of Consumer Affairs

Project Medicine Drop/
Investigations
Announced in November 2011, Project
Medicine Drop is a vital component of
the Division’s effort to halt the abuse and
diversion of prescription drugs. The program
was a pilot effort in which the Division
installed “prescription drug drop boxes” at
the Little Falls, Seaside Heights, and Vineland
police departments. Initial reports from those
departments were encouraging – for example,
20 pounds of drugs were dropped off during
the first four weeks in Seaside Heights. As
of this writing, the Division continues to
work with county-level Offices of Consumer
Affairs throughout the State to install Project
Medicine Drop boxes at municipal police
departments in all 21 counties. The boxes
provide consumers an opportunity to dispose
of their unused and expired prescription
medications safely and securely seven days a
week, 365 days a year.
Working with local and federal criminal
authorities, the Enforcement Bureau also
conducted multiple investigations into
fraudulent prescriptions written by health
care professionals licensed by various
professional boards within the Division,
resulting in criminal charges against the
professionals and, in some cases, loss of
license to practice.

Significant Matters
BOS Obtains Auction Rate
Securities Settlements

The Bureau of Securities announced in
2011 that, as a result of legal settlements
negotiated by the Bureau, firms accused
by the State of selling auction rate
securities without disclosing known risks
of the auction rate securities market had
repurchased – or offered to repurchase –
$4 billion worth of these assets from New
Jersey investors in the past two years. The
firms also have paid $22.4 million in civil
penalties to the State. The auction rate
securities at issue were marketed and sold
to investors as safe, liquid, and cash-like
investments, but they were actually longterm investments subject to a complex

auction process that failed in early 2008,
causing non-liquidity and significantly lower
interest rates than investors had historically
received. The Bureau of Securities led
New Jersey’s effort as part of a coalition of
12 states that investigated whether certain
Wall Street firms had misled investors when
selling auction rate securities. In 2011,
auction-rate-securities-related settlements
were reached with Morgan Stanley, TD
Ameritrade, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo
Investments, Credit Suisse, Wachovia and
Raymond James.

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Consumer Protection Efforts
After Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm Irene hit New Jersey in
late August and her aftermath – including
hundreds of thousands of homes without
power, entire neighborhoods flooded and
evacuated, roads crumbled, bridges washed
out – touched every New Jerseyan.
The sad fact, as evidenced during past
disasters, is that con artists target storm
victims. The Division worked vigorously in the
aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene to protect
those who sustained losses, and joined with
law enforcement agencies to identify those
attempting to defraud storm victims.
Personnel from the Division’s Office of
Consumer Protection, Enforcement Bureau,
Office of Weights and Measures, Legalized
Games of Chance Control Commission,
and Bureau of Securities went into stormaffected communities and distributed helpful
information at shelters, recovery centers, and
local police departments. The information
included facts about the Home Improvement
Contractors’ Registration Act and tips on how
to find a reputable contractor.
Office of Consumer Protection investigators
obtained the use of a storm-damaged house
in Lyndhurst and, in October, staged an
undercover operation to identify supposed
home improvement contractors who, in
fact, were not registered with the Division
as required by law. Division investigators
also worked with the Office of Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor, Bergen County

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
Prosecutor’s Office, and Lyndhurst Police
on this enforcement effort. A total of eight
unregistered contractors were criminally
charged and an additional four contractors
received civil Notices of Violation.

Professional Licensing Boards:
Vital Oversight
In 2011, the 47 licensing boards within
the Division either suspended, revoked,
or accepted the voluntary surrender of
700 licenses. These disciplinary actions
resulted from violation of board regulations
governing professional practice, and
illustrate the important oversight role the
boards play in protecting the health and
safety of the public. The Boards collectively
license more than 500,000 individuals.

Charities Registration Section:
Top 10 List
In an effort to improve transparency, the
Division launched a new monthly resource,
a bi-monthly list of the “Top 10 InquiredAbout Charities in New Jersey” as a key
component in its “Investigate Before You
Donate” public awareness campaign.
The list highlights the 10 charities
that have generated the most calls from
consumers to the Division’s Charities
Registration hotline during the two-month
period. A large number of calls received for
any of the listed charities may be the result
of a charity soliciting donations during
a recent or ongoing campaign drive. The
list, and accompanying pie charts, provide
details on how each of the Top 10 charities
use their funds, the charities’ stated mission,
and additional information. The list is
available at: www.NJConsumerAffairs.gov/
charity/inquired.

Weights and Measures:
Protection via Inspection
The Office of Weights and Measures
annually inspects and certifies 205,000
commercial weighing and measuring devices
in New Jersey. These devices include gas and
diesel pumps, scales, laundromat dryers,
and tire inflators. In January 2011, Office
of Weights and Measures investigators
conducted unannounced inspections of
home heating oil delivery trucks near
two fueling depots, with some trucks
placed out of service because of serious
violations found during the inspections.
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The inspections took place along Doremus
Avenue in Newark and at Duck Island in
Hamilton Township, Mercer County. Of
the 12 trucks inspected in Newark, two
were found to be dispensing less fuel than
represented. One truck had an incorrect
reading on its register display. These three
trucks were condemned, meaning red tags
were placed on the pumps and no deliveries
could be made until the violations were
corrected and the trucks re-inspected and
recertified as fit for use. No violations were
found among the 16 trucks inspected at
Duck Island.
In December, the State Office of Weights
and Measures joined county-level offices in
Bergen, Camden, Gloucester and Middlesex
Counties in announcing civil charges
against 14 gas stations accused of misleading
consumers by selling fuel with octane levels
far lower than those advertised on the
pumps.The complaints followed a two-week
campaign of unannounced octane tests, led
by the State Office of Weights and Measures,
at 325 gas stations across New Jersey. The
octane tests, conducted by a joint task force
of state and county inspectors, found that the
majority of gas stations were in compliance
with New Jersey’s Motor Fuels Act.

Outreach:
Helping the Public Avoid Scams
Helping consumers avoid becoming
victims of scams is the fundamental purpose
of the Division’s multi-faceted public
outreach and public education effort. The
Division’s various outreach and awareness
programs are specifically designed to alert
the public to emerging frauds being reported
in New Jersey. In March, the Division joined
with the Consumer Federation of America at
an adult medical daycare center in Elizabeth
to launch a nationwide campaign warning
seniors about the so-called “grandparent
scam.” The grandparent scam typically
begins with an urgent phone call to an
unsuspecting senior citizen. The caller may
claim to be the victim’s grandchild, or claim
to be a police officer. The message is always
the same: Your grandchild is hurt, in jail, or
otherwise in trouble, and needs hundreds
of dollars immediately. Please don’t tell the
grandchild’s mother. Please send a money
order via Western Union or a similar service.
Those who fall victim later learn their

Division of Consumer Affairs
grandchild never was in trouble. Instead,
their money has been wired to a thief and
may never be seen again. The event featured
Jim and Dorothy, a Wayne couple who
nearly fell victim to the grandparent scam
and who spoke publicly on the condition
that their last name not be used. In early
2011, the couple received a call from a
young person who sounded remarkably
like their grandson, and who accounted
for the difference in his voice by saying his
nose had been broken in a car accident.
He claimed he was in jail in Canada while
visiting family friends, and desperately
needed $2,800 for bail.
Through their story, Jim and Dorothy
helped bring the perils of the grandparent
scam to light in a personal way.
The Division also continued presenting its
“Fed-Up” program in 2011 that discusses
a broad spectrum of scams and frauds
targeting senior citizens. The program,
which features a video showing actors
confronting various scams and reacting to
them, was presented to more than 43,000
senior citizens last year.
AARP invited the Division to participate
in its expo in Trenton in November, as well
as a concurrent, interactive Tele-Town Hall
phone conference open to AARP members
from across New Jersey. Through its
collaborative efforts with AARP, the Division
delivered its information about elder fraud
to tens of thousands of senior citizens.

The Division’s “Safe Summer 2011” effort,
designed to ensure family-friendly fun
along Jersey Shore boardwalks, garnered
significant media coverage and served as
an important resource for consumers. As
part of the Safe Summer initiative, state
and county investigators teamed up to
check boardwalk retail establishments for
compliance with merchandise-labeling and
sales laws and regulations. In addition, state
and county Office of Weights and Measures
inspectors tested scales for accuracy. County
health inspectors conducted sanitary
inspections of food booths and stands, and
the Legalized Games of Chance Control
Commission inspected amusement games to
ensure patrons had a fair chance to win at
boardwalk games. n

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Division on

Civil Rights
The Division on Civil Rights is responsible for enforcing the New Jersey Law Against
Discrimination (LAD) and the New Jersey Family Leave Act. The LAD seeks to prevent and
remedy unlawful discrimination in employment, contracting, housing, in schools and in
other places of public accommodation. The Family Leave Act provides eligible employees
with leaves of absence in connection with the birth or adoption of a child or the serious
health condition of an eligible employee’s parent, child or spouse. As part of its statutory
mission, the Division receives, investigates and resolves complaints that the law has been
violated. In a broader sense, the Division’s mission is to foster attitudes of acceptance,
equality and respect among all people throughout New Jersey. The Division has regional
offices located in Atlantic City, Camden, Newark and Trenton. In December 2010, the
Division closed its Paterson office. In addition to processing and investigating complaints
of unlawful discrimination, the Division receives – and responds to – more than 15,000
inquiries each year from the general public regarding civil rights law. More information
about the Division is available at www.njcivilrights.org.

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Division on Civil Rights

Overview
The Division obtained more than $500,000
on behalf of discrimination complainants
in 2011, mostly through negotiation of
settlements by the Mediation Unit, but also
through successful litigation. At the outset of
the DCR process, parties are encouraged to
try and resolve their cases through mediation
to avoid potentially lengthy investigations
and protracted trials. In 2011, the Division
successfully mediated 81 cases, obtaining
$419,515 in monetary awards for victims.
Another 11 discrimination cases were
successfully tried before an Administrative
Law Judge, resulting in total financial awards
to victims of more than $100,000. Nine
other discrimination cases were resolved
through a process known as Conciliation.
Settlement of the conciliation cases – matters
that had progressed to the “Finding of
Probable Cause” stage and were poised for
trial after mediation failed to resolve them
– resulted in more than $3,000 in total
monetary awards to complainants.
Overall, the Division closed out 788
cases in 2011 and initiated 725 new
investigations. The most common basis for
new discrimination complaints in 2011 was
disability, followed by race and gender. The
most common issues raised by complainants
were unlawful discharge, differential
treatment and denial of reasonable
accommodation.
The Division also continued to ensure
that the owners of apartment complexes
with more than 25 units complied with the
state’s Multiple Dwelling Reporting Rule.
The MDRR requires owners with more than
25 apartments to file an annual report with
the Division that includes information on
the racial and ethnic make-up of their rental
populations and pools of housing applicants,
as well as the degree of access they provide
to persons with disabilities. In 2011, a record
88 percent of the 3,500 owners required to
file did so in a timely fashion.

Case Highlights
Settlements

allegations that City Coffee owner Ronald
Ford, Jr. sexually harassed a number of
female employees. Under terms of the
settlement, Ford was required to pay the
State $15,000 and provide training to all
of his employees on discrimination and
harassment in the workplace. By agreement,
the $60,000 balance of the settlement
was suspended, and will be vacated after
three years unless Ford fails to live up to
all terms, in which case he is liable for the
full amount. Under the settlement, Ford
made no admission of wrongdoing. Ford’s
$15,000 payment to the Division was
divided among City Coffee employees whose
sexual harassment allegations formed the
basis of the original DCR complaint against
him. In addition to the $15,000 payout and
the settlement’s training component, Ford
also was required to develop formal antiworkplace-discrimination policies at City
Coffee, as well as procedures for handling
employee discrimination complaints, and
provide the Division with copies. Ford
also was required to provide the Division
with quarterly reports documenting any
discrimination complaints made by his
employees, what actions were taken in
response, and what the outcome was.
n Yellow Cab (denial of reasonable
accommodation): Taxi drivers in Atlantic
City underwent training in state and
federal civil rights law in the fall of 2011
as the result of a settlement that resolved
allegations the Yellow Cab Company
discriminated against a blind man by
refusing him and his guide dog a ride to a
casino. Under terms of the settlement, an
estimated 600 cab drivers who worked in
Atlantic City attended training provided
by the Division and focused on both the
Law Against Discrimination and the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as
well as their individual obligations as cab
drivers under both laws.
The training – which was mandatory for
Yellow Cab employees – was coordinated
with the Atlantic City Department of
Licenses and Inspections. The settlement
resolved a complaint filed against Yellow
Cab by Thomas R. Schierioth, of Atlantic

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n City Coffee (sexual harassment): The
Division entered into a $75,000 settlement
agreement with the owner of City Coffee,
a restaurant and coffee shop located in
Camden city. The settlement resolved
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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
City, in the wake of alleged disability-based
discrimination that occurred twice in the
same day on July 10, 2010. Schierioth, who
is regularly assisted by a guide dog due to his
blindness, contacted Yellow Cab and asked
to be picked up at his home.
When the taxi arrived to transport him,
Shierioth alleged, he tried to enter the
cab with his guide dog and was told by
the driver, “no dog, no dog.” The driver
subsequently drove away. Schierioth
apparently got to his destination – the
Showboat Hotel and Casino in Atlantic
City – by other means, but contacted Yellow
Cab several hours later seeking a ride
home. According to Schierioth’s complaint,
a different Yellow Cab driver arrived in
response to his call but the result was the
same – upon seeing Shierioth and his guide
dog, the driver refused them service and drove
away. Shierioth later reported the incident to
the Mercantile Association of Atlantic City, and
filed a complaint with the Division.
n Mays Landing Condominium
Association (denial of reasonable
accommodation): The Mays Landing
Condominium Association agreed to pay
a medically-disabled resident $10,000
and forgive thousands of dollars more in
maintenance fees owed by the woman
to resolve allegations that it failed to
accommodate her disability by allowing
her to park close to her unit. In particular,
the Condominium Association agreed
to pay $7,528 to longtime resident Mary
Lou Frisch, and apply $2,472 toward her
condominium maintenance fees for 2012.
The Association also agreed to forgive
an estimated $15,000 in outstanding
maintenance fees owed by Frisch, have
its officers attend training on the Law
Against Discrimination, and develop
written policies and procedures for
addressing future requests for disability
accommodation. The Condominium
Association paid $5,000 to the Division for
costs, and agreed to have its handling of
requests for accommodation monitored by
the Division for the next two years.
n RPM Development Group (housing
discrimination based on familial status):
The RPM Development Group of Essex
County agreed to amend its policy and

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consider exceptions to its two-person-perbedroom restriction upon a family’s written
request. RPM is a developer of affordable
housing that owns approximately 1,300
apartments in 21 complexes throughout
Essex County.
The Division had filed a complaint
alleging that RPM’s occupancy standards
discriminated against larger families seeking
housing after RPM’s strict application of the
two-person-per-bedroom rule precluded a
family with four children and an infant from
renting a 1,300-square-foot, three-bedroom
apartment. In June 2010, the Division issued
a Finding of Probable Cause that concluded
RPM’s occupancy standard violated the
Law Against Discrimination’s familial status
provision because it failed to consider
habitable floor space, family composition,
and unit configuration in setting occupancy
limits for its units. Under the settlement,
should an applicant request an exception
to the two-person-per-bedroom rule, RPM
will consider the size and configuration of
the apartment and other physical limitations
related to health and safety, but is not
required to grant an exception that would
violate local housing codes, regulations
or laws. The change in RPM’s policy is
consistent with guidelines concerning
occupancy standards issued by the federal
Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), and the change will
be incorporated into all materials provided
by RPM to its housing applicants. RPM also
provided compensation to the family of five
whose initial rejection by RPM triggered the
Division’s complaint.

Findings of Probable Cause
n Franklin Board of Education (racebased discrimination): The Division issued
a Finding of Probable Cause against the
Franklin Township, Gloucester County,
Board of Education in 2011 in connection
with the alleged, race-based harassment of
an elementary school student. The Division’s
investigation found that the district failed
to deal adequately with the persistent verbal
harassment of an African-American female

Division on Civil Rights
student that began when the victim was in
third grade and continued through her sixthgrade year. The alleged harassment consisted
of race-based name calling and other biasdriven remarks by students on the school
bus and elsewhere while the girl attended
Main Road School from 2005 through 2009.
n The Club at Ricochet (sexual
harassment): The Division issued a Finding
of Probable Cause in connection with
charges made by a housekeeping employee
of The Club at Ricochet, a Plainfield fitness
club, that she was sexually harassed. The
victim alleged that she’d been subjected
not only to sexual harassment, but physical
threats, by a co-worker during an 18-month
period, and that her employment was
terminated one day after she complained
about the harassment to club management.
At this writing, the case is in conciliation.
n Nationstar Mortgage (discrimination
based on gender and familial status):
The Division issued a finding of probable
cause against Nationstar Mortgage, a Texasbased mortgage lender and servicer doing
business in New Jersey, in connection with
allegations that the company rejected a
qualified loan applicant because she was
pregnant. The Division’s investigation
determined that Nationstar approached a
female condominium owner in March 2011,
encouraging her to refinance her mortgage at
an interest rate lower than that of her current
mortgage. The woman applied for refinancing
through Nationstar and was notified in
writing, following a credit check, that she’d
been conditionally approved. Subsequently,
her loan application was rejected following a
discussion with a Nationstar representative
in which she mentioned she was taking a
maternity leave from her job. The Division’s
investigation found that the woman used
accrued paid sick leave to receive full pay
during her absence, that she fully intended to
return to work, and was fully qualified for the
loan she sought. At this writing, the case is in
conciliation.

Training and Outreach
n Anti-Harassment Training: In 2011 the
Division’s Bureau of Outreach and Public
Education held 115 training sessions focused
on preventing harassment in the work place,
mitigating harassment-related liability (for
managers), and preventing harassment and
bullying in a school environment. A total
of approximately 7,000 people attended
the training sessions. The Bureau also
hosted community roundtables, presented
regional workshops and took part in several
statewide conferences.
n Veterans Outreach Initiative: The Division
began a Veterans Outreach Initiative in
conjunction with the New Jersey Department
of Military and Veterans Affairs and the
American Legion. The initiative, which was
expected to continue throughout 2012, is
designed to promote awareness among active
military personnel and disabled veterans of
their rights related to employment, housing and
access to places of public accommodation.
n Joint Training Sessions with Federal EEO:
The Division and the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission co-sponsored eight
regional training seminars in 2011 designed
to provide public sector managers with the
most critical, up-to-date information regarding
state and federal anti-discrimination laws. The
seminars were open to the public. n

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Division of

Highway Traffic Safety
The mission of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety is to prevent vehicle-related crashes and
the property damage, injury and death they cause. To achieve its mission, the Division undertakes
an array of traffic safety programs relating to education, enforcement and engineering. The bulk of
the Division’s funding comes from the federal government, via the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. Funding received by the Division is used to develop and implement a comprehensive
statewide traffic safety plan, and is also distributed among local, county and state agencies in the form
of traffic safety grants. Among the Division’s chief priorities are driver and passenger safety, pedestrian
safety, and discouraging such threats to the motoring public as speeding, aggressive driving, impaired
driving and inattentive driving. For more information about the Division visit www.njsaferoads.com.

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Division of Highway Traffic Safety

Keeping Alcohol &
Drugs off the Road

n	
Over the Limit, Under Arrest: A national
“Over the Limit, Under Arrest” crackdown on
impaired driving that concluded with the New
Year’s holiday in early January 2011 resulted
in more than 2,000 arrests for driving-whileintoxicated. Participating police departments
also issued a total of more than 8,600 tickets
for speeding and more than 5,100 summonses
for failure to wear a seat belt. The “Over the
Limit Under Arrest” initiative involved 494
police departments from throughout New
Jersey, and was designed to raise awareness
about the dangers of impaired driving through
a combination of stepped-up enforcement and
media activity. The Division invited more than
400 New Jersey police agencies to take part in
the initiative, and 115 of those were provided
overtime enforcement grants of $5,000 each.
Other departments participated using their own
funding resources.
n	
Supporting Cops in Shops: The Division
provided funding in summer 2011 to support
the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s
“Cops in Shops” program. In Cops in Shops,
local police work undercover in participating
retail locations, either posing as store
employees or taking up positions outside
the store to catch adults who attempt to buy
alcohol for underage drinkers.
During the summer 2011 phase of the
program, Division funding enabled 30 shorearea police departments to take part in the
effort, and the result was 246 arrests. The
autumn “college” phase of the Cops in Shops
initiative – also supported by Division grant
funding – takes place in cities and towns where
colleges or universities are located, as well as in
neighboring communities. Since its inception in
1996, the Cops in Shops program has resulted
in the arrest of approximately 9,000 underage
persons and adults on charges related to the
illegal purchase of alcohol, and helped save
countless lives by keeping potential drunk
drivers off the road.

included targeted seat belt enforcement by
a total of 494 police departments. Of those
policing agencies, 143 received $4,000
overtime enforcement grants. In addition to
summonses issued by police for failure to wear
a seat belt, participating departments wrote
nearly 6,000 tickets for speeding, made 953
arrests for driving-while-intoxicated and issued
more than 900 tickets for failing to properly
restrain a child passenger.
n	
Seat Belt Usage Increases for 15th
Consecutive Year: The annual Seat Belt Usage
survey, conducted by the New Jersey Institute
of Technology following the “Click It or Ticket”
campaign, found that New Jersey’s front seat
belt usage rate rose for the 15th consecutive
year – from 93.7 percent in 2010 to 94.5 in
2011. Based on data guidelines developed by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
the gains in seat belt usage will translate into
six fewer fatalities, 176 fewer serious injuries,
132 fewer minor injuries and a savings of
$42 million in crash-related economic costs.
Somerset County (97.39 percent) and Union
County (95.92 percent) posted the highest seat
belt usage rates, while Passaic County saw the
largest year-to-year usage gain, with the rate
jumping from 90.1 percent in 2010 to 95.52
percent in 2011. 	

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Other Highlights

n	
Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day: In
2011, the Division once again coordinated
a statewide effort to engage the public and
media during the national observance of Put
the Brakes on Fatalities Day, held annually on
October 10. On this day, motorists are asked
to slow down, buckle up, avoid distractions
and follow all rules of the road in an effort

Occupant Protection

n	
Click It or Ticket: The Click It or Ticket
campaign was conducted May 23 through June
5, 2011 and resulted in the issuance of 32,228
failure-to-use-seat-belt tickets by participating
police agencies. Key elements of the effort
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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
to achieve zero highway fatalities for a 24hour period. In New Jersey, no fatalities were
reported during the October 10, 2011 “Put the
Brakes on Fatalities” observance. Three people
were killed in highway crashes on October 10
of the prior year.
n	
DWI Enforcement-Related Grants: The
Division awarded a total of $3.2 million in
Drunk Driving Enforcement Fund grants
during Fiscal Year 2011 to held reduce
alcohol-related crashes and fatalities. The
grant funds go to police departments to
support DWI enforcement patrols and other
DWI counter-measures.
n	
Snow Removal Law Awareness: The
Division wrapped up 2011 by bringing New
Jersey’s Ice and Snow Removal Law to the
fore again through an intensive awareness
effort. Enacted in October of 2010, the Ice
and Snow Removal Law requires motorists
to “make all reasonable efforts” to remove
accumulated ice or snow from all exposed
surfaces of their motor vehicle before
operation. Prior to the change, motorists could
only be cited if property damage or injuries
occurred as a result of failing to remove ice
and snow. Dislodged ice and snow can act
as a deadly projectile that can fly at a high
rate of speed and cause significant damage
to nearby automobiles, as well as injury
to drivers and their occupants. As of year’s
end, police throughout the state had issued
approximately 3,200 tickets to motorists who
failed to adequately remove ice and snow

32

from their vehicles. Fines for violating the law
range from $25 to $75. However, if failure
to remove ice and snow results in injury or
property damage, motorists face fines ranging
from $200 to $1,000, while commercial motor
vehicle drivers face fines ranging from $500 to
$1,500 for each offense. To increase awareness
of the Ice and Snow Removal Law, the Division
rolled out a public service announcement
and advertising campaign in 2011. The PSAs
debuted on radio stations throughout New
Jersey on December 1, 2011 and were to run
through the winter season. n

Division of Highway Traffic Safety

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Division of

Alcoholic
Beverage Control
The mission of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control is to regulate how alcoholic beverages
are sold and to foster moderation and responsibility in alcohol consumption. The Division pursues
its mission by regulating and licensing the manufacture, distribution, sale and transportation of
all alcoholic beverages within New Jersey. Essential to state control of the liquor industry is the
concept that licensees are granted a privilege to sell alcoholic beverages, and that this privilege
can be revoked. If a licensee violates any law or regulation, the ABC Director may suspend or
revoke the license or impose a fine and/or other appropriate condition. The Division is the official
repository for licensee ownership information. The Division is also the sole issuing authority of
manufacturing and wholesale licenses, as well as a variety of special permits to enable the sale of
alcoholic beverages in conjunction with charitable and business-related events. More information
about the Division is available at www.nj.gov/oag/abc.

34

Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control

Overview
In 2011, the Division’s Investigations
Bureau conducted 449 investigations and 484
inspections of retail and wholesale businesses.
In addition, Bureau personnel were involved in
1,125 undercover operations in 991 licensed
establishments, resulting in the arrest of 202
persons – a 21 percent increase – and the
“carding” of 1,670 youthful-appearing persons
to determine if they were of legal age to buy
or consume alcohol. A total of 339 cases,
involving 1,400 administrative charges, were
referred to the Division’s Enforcement Bureau
for review. Enforcement Bureau personnel also
provided technical and investigative guidance
on 857 municipal enforcement issues.

Case Highlights
n Settlement of Unlawful Liquor Substitution
Charges: The Division reached settlement in
2011 with Brig Inc., trading as Laguna Grill
and Martini Bar in Brigantine, owned by
Dominic A. Pullella of Brigantine. The licensee
was accused of cheating patrons by pouring
cheaper-grade vodka and charging them for
premium spirits from May to September. As
part of the settlement, the restaurant must
close for seven days during the summer of
2012 and pay a $23,000 fine.
Formal charges resolved by the settlement
included serving an alcoholic beverage other
than ordered, hindering an investigation by
having an employee provide false information
to an ABC investigator, and failing to produce
complete and accurate copies of invoice slips.
n Crackdown on Service to Intoxicated
Patrons: In 2011, the ABC’s Enforcement and
Investigations Bureaus launched a joint effort
to identify and aggressively prosecute cases
involving the service of alcohol to patrons who
were intoxicated or appeared to be drunk.
Investigators used Last Drink Initiative Reports
as a starting point, and also obtained municipal
and state police accident reports documenting
alcohol-related traffic crashes as part of the
effort. As of this writing, the two ABC Bureaus
are focused on more than 30 licensees that
have apparently violated the prohibition on
service of alcohol to intoxicated patrons. The
vast majority of these cases involve death or
serious injury as a result of drunk driving,

including two underage patrons with bloodalcohol levels of twice the legal limit, who
were killed less than a half-mile from the bar
where they’d been served, and a woman who
drove into the rear of a bus while driving with
a blood-alcohol level of .255, more than three
times the legal limit. As part of the process,
investigators have taken numerous sworn
statements, reviewed volumes of documents
and employed the services of two forensic
experts in order to fully develop cases.
Prestige Wine/”Mezzacorona” Settlement:
The Division reached settlement in 2011 with
Prestige Wine Imports Corporation concerning
its provision of unlawful incentives to retailers
in 2009. In the spring of that year, Prestige
provided 50 free cases of its Mezzacorona
wine products to any retailer who agreed
to purchase 150 cases. Nearly 900 cases of
Mezzacorona wine were given away during
the promotion. In addition to taking action
against Prestige, the ABC filed administrative
charges against 20 retailers. Administrative
charges were also brought against 11
solicitors employed by Allied Beverage and
R & R Marketing. The 11 solicitors were
each involved to some degree in the Prestige
promotion. In November 2011, Prestige settled
its case by agreeing to pay the State a $135,000
fine in lieu of prosecution. Prestige also
terminated all employees who were associated
with the “Mezzacorona” matter. In addition,
Prestige is prohibited under the settlement
from obtaining a New Jersey Wholesale
License prior to November 23, 2012. Of the
retailers and solicitors charged, nearly all had
settled their cases for license suspensions or
fines in lieu of suspension by year’s end.
n Direct Shipping Litigation Update: Since
2003, the Division had been defending a suit
in federal court (Freeman v. Fischer) that
claimed New Jersey’s statutory provisions
regarding the shipment of wine were
unconstitutional. On June 30, 2008, the U.S.
District Court issued an opinion concluding
that some of the State’s licensing statutes
passed constitutional muster. As a result,
the court dismissed Plaintiffs’ request for the
right of out-of-state wineries to directly ship
wine to New Jersey consumers. However,
the court also found that certain provisions
of the State’s alcoholic beverage law were

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety
unconstitutional, including ABC’s wholesale
licensing fees and the privilege afforded to
New Jersey wineries to open retail outlets.
Based on this determination, the court struck
down all of the State’s alcoholic beverage
wholesale license fees, as well as the statutory
provision authorizing winery retail outlets.
On December 17, 2010, the Third Circuit
Court of Appeals decided an appeal of the
earlier District Court ruling. The Third Circuit
affirmed the lower court in finding that New
Jersey’s direct shipping ban was constitutional,
and that Plaintiffs were not entitled to a
remedy permitting out-of-state wineries to
directly ship to New Jersey consumers. The
Third Circuit also reversed the District Court’s
decision regarding wholesale licensing fees and
privileges. Finally, the appeals court declared
that New Jersey statutes allowing state wineries
to sell directly to consumers at the winery,
retail outlets and directly to retailers was
unconstitutional. The matter was remanded
back to the District Court for determination of
the appropriate remedy.
Upon a request from the parties, the
District Court administratively terminated
the matter until March 1, 2012 to allow for
a legislative solution regarding the statutes
found unconstitutional by the Third Circuit.
New legislation was passed by the Senate and
Assembly, then signed by the Governor in
early 2012. The new legislation was to take
effect in May 2012.

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Training
n Training of New Police Chiefs: The
Division works with the New Jersey
Association of Chiefs of Police to offer
annual training for newly-appointed
police chiefs regarding their authority and
responsibility for liquor license transfers and
municipal enforcement actions. Through the
Association of Police Chiefs, the Division
also provides basic and advanced courses in
ABC enforcement techniques for municipal
police officers. The courses help provide
police officers with a working knowledge of
ABC law and regulations regarding liquor
license transfers, undisclosed interests and
municipal enforcement actions. n

Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Division of

Gaming Enforcement
The Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) is a law enforcement agency. Historically, it has
been the investigative arm of the casino regulatory system. The Division’s responsibilities have
been expanded greatly by recent amendments to the New Jersey Casino Control Act. The Division’s
mission is to enforce the Act. It has a multi-disciplinary and specialized workforce consisting of
attorneys, investigators, accountants and support personnel. Members of the New Jersey State
Police and Division of Criminal Justice also are assigned to Gaming Enforcement. The Division
reviews and audits casino-hotel operations, investigates and prosecutes all casino-related crimes,
and tests all casino slot machines and systems prior to use on the casino floors The Division also
investigates licensure criteria and potential regulatory violations, issues reports, files complaint
actions and, when necessary, challenges the qualifications of individual and corporate applicants
for casino and casino-related licenses. The Division is well-recognized around the United States,
and around the world, as a premier casino regulatory agency. For more information about the
Division of Gaming Enforcement visit www.njdge.org.

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Division of Gaming Enforcement

Technical Services Bureau
n Ensuring Slot Machine Integrity: Through
the vigilance of its Technical Services Bureau,
the Division works to ensure the integrity
of electronic gaming equipment used in
Atlantic City casinos. In 2011, the casinos
generated more than $3.3 billion in revenue,
approximately 70 percent of it from slot
machine play. In order to ensure the integrity
of slot play, every machine must be approved
by the Division’s Slot Lab and then must
undergo an inspection on the casino floor prior
to its use. For the year, the Division increased
the number of slot machines processed for
approval from 991 to nearly 1,100, while
reducing the average number of days required
to complete the process from 23 to 19.
n Aid to Smuggling Investigation: The
Division assisted the FBI in 2011 in an
undercover investigation that led to the
break-up of an alleged $1 million smuggling
operation involving slot machines and other
contraband. In October 2011, a dozen people
were arrested – including eight current and
former New York City police officers – in
connection with a ring that allegedly had
been smuggling not only slot machines, but
guns and cigarettes, into New York from out
of state. The Division assisted federal agents
by providing slot machines that were used as
part of the undercover investigation.

Criminal
Enforcement Bureau
The Division worked closely with New
Jersey State Police throughout the year to
ensure a safe environment for employees and
patrons of Atlantic City’s casinos. Overall,
State Police Troopers assigned to the Division’s
Criminal Enforcement Bureau arrested 604
people in 2011 and filed a total of nearly 1,900
criminal charges. They also handed out 1,300
summonses for lesser offenses. Through the
Bureau’s efforts, more than $139,000 was
returned to crime victims during the year.
The Division worked with State Police,
the Office of Homeland Security and the
casino industry in 2011 on deployment of an
interoperable system in each casino to allow
dispatchers, police, fire, emergency medical
services and other agencies to share voice,

video, text and files across a secure Internet
connection. The system is designed to enable
seamless communication across a Wide Area
Network that will dramatically enhance the way
emergency responders can communicate. Of
critical importance, the system will allow law
enforcement to connect to the closed circuit
cable television systems at each casino in the
event of a terrorist attack or other public safety
incident. As of the end of December 2011, the
system – known as Mutualink – was operational
at the 11 casino properties, as well as at the
Division.

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Regulatory Enforcement
Bureau/ Employee
Licensing Bureau
The majority of staff from the Regulatory
Enforcement Bureau is assigned to the 11
Atlantic City casinos. The Bureau’s investigatory
responsibilities include such areas as accounting
and internal controls, rules of the casino games,
gaming equipment, simulcasting, security,
alcoholic beverage control, the integrity of
information systems, advertising, exclusion
and self-exclusion list violations and equal
employment opportunity complaints.
For 2011, the Bureau conducted 3,542
investigations of alleged underage gambling/
drinking, 2,712 regulatory and information
technology investigations and conducted 88
revenue certification audits.
The Employee Licensing Bureau assures that
each casino key employee meets the applicable
standards of financial stability, good character,
honesty and integrity as mandated by the
Casino Control Act. It also assures that key
employees and casino employee registrants
are not disqualified. For the year 2011, the
Bureau completed 5,544 employee license
investigations, as well as 435 arrest notification
investigations. In addition, the Bureau processed
171 license revocation complaints.

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Casino Entity
Licensing Bureau
The Casino Entity Licensing Bureau
assures that each applicant for, and holder
of, a casino license meets the standards of
financial responsibility, honesty, integrity
and good character mandated by the Casino
Control Act, and that such licensees are not
disqualified in any way. As part of its mission,
the Bureau investigates and monitors the
business transactions of applicants, licensees
and related companies, conducts investigations
of all principal employees, financial backers
or investors, and examines the background
of casino companies and their affiliates. The
Bureau’s legal unit litigates violations of New
Jersey casino laws and regulations before the
Casino Control Commission, and reports to
the Commission on investigations related
to casino licenses. The Bureau’s Office of
Financial Investigations (OFI) works to
ensure the financial stability and integrity
of all casino applicants and licensees and
their respective holding companies. The OFI
analyzes and responds to filings which relate
to equity and debt offerings, restructurings
and recapitalization, the upstreaming of cash,
corporate spin-offs and casino expansions.
On a continuing basis, OFI monitors the
financial stability of the casinos to ensure the
public interest is protected, and that each casino
company is meetings its ongoing tax, wage and
other fiscal obligations.
n MGM Mirage: MGM Mirage, one of the
largest gaming companies in the world, is coowner of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in
Atlantic City. MGM also owns three significant
parcels of land in Atlantic City which are
adjacent to the Borgata and Golden Nugget. On
July 22, 2011, MGM and Boyd/MDDC filed a
joint petition requesting that MGM be granted
an 18-month extension of a period during
which MGM can direct the marketing and sale
of its 50 percent ownership interest in Borgata.
The Division did not oppose the extension

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request. On August 8, the Commission granted
the extension, thereby giving MGM until March
13, 2013 to dispose of its interest in the Borgata.
n Trump Entertainment: On April 6, 2011, the
Casino Control Commission plenarily qualified
Avenue Capital Group (with Marc Lasry as its
principal), and Avenue became an approximate
22 percent owner of Trump Entertainment
Resorts (TER) . TER continues to own
and operate two casino licensees. Avenue’s
associated individuals and entities also were
found qualified regarding their involvement
with TER and its casino licensees.

Miscellaneous
n New Revel Casino: Work continued
throughout 2011 on the Revel casino hotel
project. The Revel site is located in the South
Inlet section of Atlantic City and stands on
approximately 20 acres of beachfront property
on the Boardwalk. Upon opening, which was
projected for March 2012, the total investment
in the project is expected to be approximately
$2.4 billion. It is expected to contain 1,900
rooms, a 150,000-square-foot casino, a 5,500seat arena, 12 fine and casual dining outlets,
160,000-square-feet of convention and meeting
space, and a host of other amenities.
n Hard Rock Casino Project: In November
2011, the Casino Control Commission granted
the application of AC Gateway and its affiliates
to participate in the pilot program for a staged
casino facility. The project will be named the

Division of Gaming Enforcement
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City.
Phase 1 of the Hard Rock project is expected to
consist of a 208-room hotel, 54,000-square-feet
of gaming space, a 3,000-seat event center, a
Hard Rock Café, museum and shop, and related
amenities. Phase 2 is expected to include at least
642 additional rooms and 27,000-square-feet of
casino space.
n Casinos/Homeland Security: Throughout
2011, the Division of Gaming Enforcement
examined casino infrastructure sites to assess
their security features. Area retail and parking
facilities were evaluated, and recommendations
were made for enhancing certain security and
safety elements.
The Division will continue to evaluate
the various Atlantic City casino hotels
and their related infrastructure, and make
recommendations to ensure they are as
protected, and as prepared to respond, as
possible in the event of a terrorist attack or
other major incident. n

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Racing
Commission
The core mission of the Racing Commission is to govern, direct and regulate horse racing and
pari-mutuel wagering in New Jersey. The Commission conducts vigorous oversight of horse
racing matters throughout the state to ensure that racing is conducted in a fair, responsible and
lawful manner, and to ensure the safety of the sport’s participants. The year 2011 was one of
uncertainty and transition for the horse racing industry and, as a result, the Racing Commission
was extremely active in dealing with emergent issues. The Commission also held five additional
meetings throughout the year to ensure that all matters requiring its attention were considered,
including several proposed changes to the live racing schedules at various venues. For more
information about the Racing Commission visit www.nj.gov/oag/racing.

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Racing Commission

Significant Matters
n Off-Track Wagering: The three Off-track
Wagering facilities in New Jersey processed
more than $143 million in wagers on in-state
and out-of-state races in 2011. The off-track
wagering site in Woodbridge, Middlesex
County – reportedly the highest volume
off-track-wagering facility in the United
States – captured more than $95 million
in bets. (The Commission authorized a
fourth off-track wagering facility planned
for Bayonne, Hudson County in 2010. That
project, however, remains on hold pending
resolution of racetrack ownership issues.)
n Comprehensive Drug-Testing: The Racing
Commission continued its comprehensive drugtesting program in 2011. In addition to testing
for steroids, the Commission conducted outof-competition testing at 17 separate locations
including: 12 licensed New Jersey off-track
stabling facilities, three stabling facilities in
New York, one at the Meadowlands Racetrack
and one at Pocono Downs Race Track in
Pennsylvania. A total of 52 horses were tested.
According to the most recent data available,
nearly 22,668 blood and urine samples collected
from horses were tested by the State Police
Forensic Science Laboratory in 2011, with 26
testing positive for the presence of illegal drugs,
or the presence of drugs over legal dosage limits.
n Equine Herpes Quarantine: Racing
Commission veterinarians and investigators
assisted Department of Agriculture personnel
in enforcing and monitoring a quarantine
imposed at two thoroughbred horse farms as
the result of an outbreak of equine herpes.
Although one horse died, the quarantine
effectively prevented spread of the disease.
n Monmouth, Meadowlands Leasing:
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition
Authority, operator of Monmouth Park and
Meadowlands Racetrack, elected to lease
their facilities to private interests in 2011.
Leasing the Meadowlands for harness racing
was accomplished on December 20, when
the Racing Commission approved a permit
for New Meadowlands Racetrack, LLC, to
operate racing at the track. The plan to lease
Monmouth Park for thoroughbred racing fell
through when Monmouth Park Racing, LLC,
decided not to go forward with the venture.
As a result, the thoroughbred racing permit
for Monmouth Park reverted to the New

Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. The
Authority will operate Monmouth Park until
another private investor is selected.
n Live Racing Dates Scaled Back: There were
several legislative changes in 2011 that allowed
for a reduction in the number of live racing
dates in both the thoroughbred and standardbred sectors. As a result, the number of live
racing dates in New Jersey declined by 27
percent (from 375 in 2010 to 273 in 2011.)
Workforce Reduction: With fewer live
horse racing dates scheduled, the need for
certain regulatory oversight functions also
decreased. As a cost-saving measure in 2011,
the Racing Commission implemented a
workforce reduction plan that resulted in the
elimination of 20 full-time positions as of
October 31. Coupled with other cost-saving
measures, the overall Commission budget was
reduced by approximately $2 million. The
Racing Commission maintains a pool of parttime workers to supplement staff as needed.

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Rulemaking
n Safety Vests and Helmets: In 2011, the
Racing Commission adopted two new rules
(13:70-8.18 and 13:70-9.12) as a result of a
petition for rulemaking submitted by the New
Jersey Horse Racing Injury Compensation
Board. The rules upgraded the standards
for Commission-required safety vests and
helmets worn by thoroughbred racing
industry employees when on horseback.
n Administration of Non-Steroidal Drugs:
Rule amendments adopted by the Racing
Commission in November 2011 reduced
the permitted level of phenylbutazone
present in a horse’s system on race day from
five micrograms to two micrograms.
Phenylbutazone is a non-steroidal, antiinflammatory drug often used for the short-term
treatment of pain and fever in animals. n

43

New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Juvenile Justice
Commission
The mission of the Juvenile Justice Commission is to foster public safety and
reduce juvenile delinquency by holding young offenders accountable, providing them
opportunities to achieve positive change, and promoting their return to the community
as productive, law-abiding citizens. Now in its second decade of existence – the agency
was created by statute in 1995 – the JJC continues to focus on serving the needs of at-risk
youth and those adjudicated delinquent by the courts and placed in its custody. For more
information about the JJC visit www.njjjc.org.

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Juvenile Justice Commission

Keynote 2011
Programs, Initiatives
JDAI Effort Continued
as a National Model

In 2011, the Juvenile Detention Alternatives
Initiative (JDAI) continued to serve as a
model program for the nation, as average daily
detention center populations at JDAI sites
continued to decline, and the number of New
Jersey counties participating increased to 15 by
year’s end. According to the latest data:
n	Based on 2011 data, the average daily juvenile
detention population across all 15 JDAI sites
is down 54.8 percent.
n	On any given day in 2011, there were 446
fewer juveniles in secure detention, with
minority youth accounting for nearly 90
percent of the decrease.
n	Based on 2011 data, the number of girls in
detention on any given day has declined by
68.6 percent across the 15 JDAI sites.
n	Since JDAI implementation, the number
of youth detained for violating the terms
of their probation has dropped 65 percent,
while detentions related to juveniles failing to
appear in court dropped 53.7 percent.
The objective of JDAI is to create more
effective and efficient processes surrounding
the use of detention. A primary goal is to make
certain that secure detention is used for serious
and chronic juvenile offenders, and that effective
alternatives are available for other offenders
who can be safely supervised in the community
while awaiting final court disposition. JDAI also
works to redirect resources toward successful
reform strategies, and to improve conditions of
confinement for youth who require the most
secure level of supervision.
JDAI was developed by the highly-regarded
Annie E. Casey Foundation of Baltimore in
response to national trends that reflected a
drastic increase in the use of secure detention
for juveniles and resultant overcrowding in
youth detention facilities. In 2004, the Casey
Foundation selected New Jersey to be among
the first states to replicate the JDAI approach.
Since then, representatives of many states
throughout the nation have visited New Jersey
to observe JDAI firsthand, and to consult with
Juvenile Justice Commission officials regarding
its successful implementation.

JJC Participation
in Philadelphia
Flower Show
In March 2011, residents of the Juvenile
Justice Commission took part in the nationally
acclaimed Philadelphia Flower Show. It
marked the fifth consecutive year for JJC
participation. The theme of the 2011 Flower
Show was “Springtime in Paris” and, under
the supervision of a horticulture instructor,
residents from the JJC’s Costello Prep Program,
located in Tabernacle Township, created an
entry for the “Individual and Club Entry”
exhibit that focused on the French Riviera.
As part of the lead-up to the Flower Show,
participating JJC residents spent hours in the
classroom researching tropical plants for their
hanging basket and window box entry. The
JJC students used 26 plant species, many of
which were grown by the students themselves
in greenhouses, as part of their ongoing
horticulture education. Students designed and
assembled several potential entries, carefully
nurturing each to determine which would be
selected as the eventual entry. Once an entry
was selected, JJC students had the opportunity
to visit the Convention Center in Philadelphia,
site of the flower show, to maintain their
creation. In addition, the JJC’s Campus
Residential Community Home, located in
Blackwood, Camden County, submitted 11
single-plant entries, including specimens of
geranium, cyclamen, hibiscus, and begonia.
The JJC youth spent weeks cultivating these
individual plants, which were subsequently
reviewed by some the nation’s most
distinguished horticulturists at the Flower
Show. In addition to its core educational
curriculum, the JJC provides extensive career
and technical education to students, including
horticulture instruction.
As part of its horticulture program, the
JJC operates a greenhouse on the grounds of
Smithville County Park in Burlington County.
At peak season, students care for 75,000 plants,
which are used in community service projects
and are available for sale.

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

Joint Recidivism
Data Mart Project
The Juvenile Justice Commission entered
into a Memo of Understanding (MOU) with
the State Department of Corrections, the State
Parole Board and the New Jersey Office of
Information Technology in 2011 to guide the
creation and implementation of a Recidivism
Data Mart, as a subset of a broader data
warehouse. The Recidivism Data Mart tool
will support the management and reporting of
justice system data, with a focus on offender
recidivism and reentry. A goal of the Data Mart
is to create a focused and efficient process for
utilizing available reentry resources. Aggregate
data gathered via the Data Mart will aid in the
formation of new policies related to recidivism.
Another important goal of the Recidivism Data
Mart is to meet the requirements of N.J.S.A
30:4-91.15, which requires the JJC and its
partners in the MOU to submit a recidivism
analysis to the Governor and Legislature, and
to publish a semi-annual recidivism report on
the State Web site.

Reentry Services
The Juvenile Justice Commission views
reentry as a process that begins at admission.
Through collaborations and partnerships
across the agency’s organizational lines and
through interagency and community-based
relationships, the JJC provides an array of
reentry services that reflect best practices, as
identified in reentry research. Offender reentry
is increasingly viewed as a correlate to crime
reduction measures, improved public safety
and cost savings associated with improved
recidivism. In 2011, Governor Chris Christie
announced the establishment of a Recidivism
Reduction Task Force, and the New Jersey
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Committee identified reentry as a priority
concern. JJC reentry services include:
n	Providing case management and evidencebased interventions to address the
rehabilitative needs of juvenile offenders
n	Engaging community-based providers in
pre-release planning for post-release services –
services that continue through termination of
court- ordered supervision
n	Engaging juveniles and their parents/
caregivers in the rehabilitative and caseplanning process;
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n	Providing family reunification efforts
n	Helping juveniles gradually transition back

to their home communities through a
continuum of pre-release efforts
n	Establishing community-based partnerships
that help form a network of local
stakeholders who can assist with access to
local services and resources
n	Ensuring that post-release services and
monitoring are provided until a juvenile’s
parole obligation is fulfilled.
In 2011, the JJC received grants to support the
following reentry initiatives:
n	High Risk Juvenile Offender Reentry and
Family Strengthening Initiatives: The agency
received demonstration funds from the federal
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP) to implement a pilot
transitional reentry continuum for youth
returning to Atlantic County.
n	Second Chance Act Adult and Juvenile
Offender Reentry Demonstration Projects:
This OJJDP federal demonstration grant will
allow the provision of juvenile sex offender
specific services to youth released from secure
care to communities throughout New Jersey.
n	Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN): A grant
received from the Division of Criminal Justice
enabled the Commission’s Office of Juvenile
Parole and Transitional Services to implement
PSN initiatives in Mercer and Passaic
Counties. n

Juvenile Justice Commission

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New Jersey Office of The Attorney General • Department of Law & Public Safety

State Athletic
Control Board
The State Athletic Control Board is charged with the regulation and supervision of all
contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat held within New Jersey. The Board’s main
missions are to ensure the health and safety of contestants and ensure integrity and
fairness in all contests. The agency collects ticket and television taxes, licensing fees and
disciplinary fines as its revenue sources. The presence of combative sporting events often
leads to increased casino drop, higher hotel occupancy rates, employment opportunities
and other taxable revenues. For more information about the Athletic Control Board visit
www.nj.gov/oag/sacb.

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State Athletic Control Board

2011 Highlights
In calendar year 2011, the State Athletic
Control Board regulated 26 professional
boxing contests consisting of a total of 189
matches. In addition, the agency oversaw 34
mixed martial arts events, which consisted of
199 professional matches and 151 amateur
matches. Finally, the agency hosted 7 muay
thai kickboxing events featuring eight
professional contests, three Class A amateur
contests, and 69 Class B amateur contests.
Professional boxing highlights included
events involving the World Boxing Council
world middleweight championship, the
Showtime Super Six tournament finals, and the
World Boxing Association and International
Boxing Federation’s world featherweight
championship – all held in Atlantic City.
World class boxing events were also held at the
Prudential Center in Newark.
With regard to mixed martial arts, the agency
hosted the Ultimate Fighting Championships
at the Prudential Center, the Strikeforce Grand
Prix tournament at the Izod Center in East
Rutherford, and Bellator’s season finals from
Caesars Atlantic City.
With regard to muay thai kickboxing, the
agency regulated the first professional muay thai
event in New Jersey history held at Brookdale
College in Monmouth County, as well as the
first muay thai event ever held in Atlantic City,
at Bally’s. These events included matches that
involved WBC international titles.
Besides major events in Atlantic City and
Newark, smaller-level combat sports cards
were also held in various venues in Cherry
Hill, Jersey City, Lakewood, North Bergen,
Paterson, Rahway, and Wildwood.
The SACB hosted a detailed training
seminar for its boxing officials in Trenton
and an intensive seminar for its muay thai
kickboxing officials in Sayreville. The SACB’s
trained judges and officials were selected to
work events in many other states, and in other
countries, such as Australia, Canada, England,
Ireland and Germany.

In 2011, Commissioner Aaron Davis was
elected the Vice President of the Association of
Boxing Commissions at its annual convention
in Washington DC.
Lead MMA and muay thai ringside
physician Dr. Sheryl Wulkan was selected by
the Department of the Navy to test a neurocognitive device on combat athletes, and was
an invited guest of the Sergeant Major of the
Marine Corps as a consultant to their martial
arts program.
Counsel Nick Lembo drafted unified rules
for the sports of amateur and professional
muay thai kickboxing, which led to the
arrival of the new style events in New
Jersey. These rules were then adopted by
the entire membership of the Association
of Boxing Commissions. n

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2011

Annual Report
New Jersey Office of Attorney General