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A New Jersey cop who was spotted sleeping in his patrol car last summer has now lost a loaded handgun, according to his lawyer. Trenton Police Officer Richard Takach misplaced the Glock semi-automatic handgun in the city's West Precinct parking lot around 3 a.m. on Monday, his attorney Stuart Alterman said. "It's not a sign of him being careless," Alterman added. "It was an accident. Nobody intentionally loses a weapon. He was changing in and out of his duty uniform to his street clothes. He was transferring his weapon from his duty holster to an off-duty holster. And unfortunately he...

Christmas greetings from German soldiers occupying the British island of Jersey during the Second World War have finally been delivered 71 years later. Stolen by a group of island youths in December 1941 as an act of defiance against the Nazis, the holiday letters first resurfaced in 2006. Now, after Jersey's historical archive has catalogued their content, they have been sent on to their intended destinations in Germany. "Merry Christmas and a healthy New Year wishes you Soldier Emil Adam. Greetings to Maier, Fischer and Melcher," read a letter yellow with age delivered to Engelbert Josef Bergmann in Mühlheim am...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Federal agents arrested the mayor of New Jersey's capital city early Monday as part of an ongoing corruption investigation into bribery allegations related to a parking garage project that was concocted as part of an FBI sting operation. Trenton Mayor Tony Mack, his brother, Ralphiel, and convicted sex offender Joseph Giorgianni, a Mack supporter who owns a Trenton sandwich shop, were accused of conspiring to obstruct, delay and affect interstate commerce by extortion under color of official right.

Federal authorities arrested Trenton, N.J., Mayor Tony Mack and more than half a dozen other people early Monday in connection with an ongoing corruption probe, NBC 4 New York has learned. Mack faces federal charges including conspiracy to obstruct commerce by extortion. Joseph "JoJo" Giorgianni, a top campaign contributor, and six others were also taken into custody. Information on their attorneys wasn't immediately available. Specific charges against the suspects are expected to be outlined by Paul Fishman, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, later Monday. ...

"Christie did spearhead legislation that increased pension contributions by public employees, tweaked benefits and halted cost of living increases," but did little or nothing to stop the costly practice of 'double-dipping.. which allows well-connected officials to 'retire,' start collecting a pension and then return to work for the state, often the next day or week." The most prominent of the double-dippers exposed recently just happens to be Christie's deputy chief of staff, Louis Goetting, "who gets $228,860 a year - $140,000 in salary, plus $88,860 as a state retiree." New Jersey Watchdog found at least 60 double-dippers in New Jersey...

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TRENTON — Stressing the importance of maintaining diversity at the highest levels of New Jersey’s judiciary, Gov. Chris Christie Monday nominated an openly gay African-American mayor and a Korean-American assistant attorney general to the Supreme Court.

The City of Jersey City is suing the developer of the $23 million municipal Justice Complex on Summit Avenue, which the city claims was so poorly constructed that the building's foundation is "in a state of collapse," putting people "at risk of bodily harm." The complex, which was completed in May 2001, houses the municipal court and offices for the prosecutors, judges and court staff. The city, along with the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, accuses the developer and nearly two dozen architects, engineers and subcontractors of negligence, breach of contract, consumer fraud and 12 other counts.

Gov. Chris Christie has a name for people who visit Las Vegas in the summertime: "Stupid." Speaking at a news conference to introduce the new head of a state agency tasked with revitalizing Atlantic City, the nation's second-largest gambling market, Christie couldn't resist taking a shot at No. 1.

Issuing a one-year moratorium on "fracking," Gov. Chris Christie today issued a conditional veto of S-2576, recommending changes to the legislation that balances protecting New Jersey’s environment and drinking water and encouraging cleaner energy alongside the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. As currently written, S-2576 would permanently prohibit fracking in New Jersey, a drilling technique used for the exploration or production of natural gas, even as concurrent studies on the practice are underway by the federal government and no known natural gas deposits necessitating use of the fracking process have been proposed for development in New Jersey. “I...

A New Jersey school district has apologized to parents after requiring high school students to read books that include graphic depictions of lesbian sex and a homosexual orgy. “Some of the language is inappropriate,” said Chuck Earling, superintendent of Monroe Township Schools in Williamstown, N.J. “We were not trying to create controversy. We were just trying to get students to read.”

Since Tim Pawlenty ended his bid for the presidency last Sunday, his former staffers and key fundraisers have held off from endorsing another candidate or moving to another campaign. There’s a reason. Team Pawlenty is waiting on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to make a decision about entering the field as a presidential candidate, The Daily Caller learned Friday. Key staffers who formerly made up the Pawlenty campaign have been in discussions with Christie all week and the talks are still ongoing, sources told TheDC. They are reportedly very anxious to have Christie officially place his hat in the ring....

Gov. Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have signed off on $1.50 toll hikes for all Port Authority crossings that’ll go into effect next month, sources said. The final fare hikes are far lower than the ones the Port Authority rolled out last month, which called for a $4 increase on most crossings and were met with widespread disgust by politicians and the public. Christie and Cuomo are also calling for an audit of the agency. The new $1.50 hikes will apply to cash and EZ-Pass customers on all the Port Authority’s bridges and tunnels. Cash payers will also...

New Jersey governor Chris Christie slammed President Obama at a recent press conference for not demonstrating competent leadership and not providing the American people what they want in a president. "You can't lead from behind," Christie said. "Leading is not a political strategy. It's a moral strategy."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is reportedly conducting focus groups to prepare for a presidential bid in 2012. "If Christie chooses to run, he would have wide support within the party and become the likely frontrunner for the GOP nom," Alter tweeted earlier.

Oh, man, what a bad day for New Jersey.First, Abercrombie & Fitch pays “Jersey Shore” “star” The Situation not to wear its clothing, and now Fitch — no relation — has gone and downgraded the entire state. What is it with these Fitches? Is anybody investigating the connection here? Full disclosure: I live in New Jersey.Fitch, the rater, not the retailer, writes: Fitch Ratings downgrades the State of New Jersey’s outstanding general obligation (GO) bonds to ‘AA-’ from ‘AA’.Fitch also downgrades to ‘AA-’ from ‘AA’ the rating on the Garden State Preservation Trust’s open space revenue bonds. Additionally, Fitch downgrades...

We may never know how he did it. It could have involved some sort of broad scale mind control experiment. Perhaps he brought in somebody from over the border in Delaware to cast a spell on the state legislature. But in New Jersey – a state generally defined by partisan warfare between liberal Democrats and really liberal Democrats – Governor Chris Christie has met the public workers unions on the field of battle and sent them running like pigs from the gun. New Jersey lawmakers on Thursday approved a broad rollback of benefits for 750,000 government workers and retirees, the...

Fiscal Policy: A New Jersey state senator wants to establish a millionaires tax. Have Trenton policymakers learned nothing from their state's experience with fleeing wealth? State Sen. Shirley Turner wants to dig even deeper into millionaires' wallets by hiking the tax rate on every dollar earned in excess of $1 million annually. The Democrat proposes jumping the top personal rate to 10.75%. The current top rate is 8.97% on income exceeding $500,000 a year. The 10.75% top rate isn't new. It was in place before Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who has his hands full with spend-and-spend-again Democrats, took office...

Bob Hurley Sr. is about to hit a milestone few basketball coaches on any level have reached: 1,000 victories. He has won them the hard way at St. Anthony High in Jersey City, New Jersey, sweeping the hardwood floor before home games and riding yellow buses to cramped gymnasiums up and down the East Coast.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is building a firewall in the final stretch, dumping money into five competitive races that had gotten less attention in previous weeks. This week, the DCCC spent $1.5 million on ads for Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), after spending nothing in the previous week, and dropped $653,865 to protect another vulnerable incumbent, Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.), against his challenge from former NFL offensive tackle Jon Runyan. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44339.html#ixzz13j7ZY71m

“Teachers Unions Gone Wild,” a video released Monday by James O’Keefe, a self-described investigative journalist and filmmaker, and his team at Veritas Visuals, contains footage that is described by the organization as: “NJEA Union Teachers call black students n*****, talk about slandering Christie, say they want to “f*** with kids,” and brag about rigged elections and voter fraud.”

Jersey shelter starts 'Obamacare' for petsUpdated: Wednesday, July 07, 2010, 6:58 PM Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal Liberty Humane Society officials are calling it their version of "Obamacare" -- but for pets. The Jersey City shelter is opening a low-cost Wellness Clinic tomorrow, which will be open every Thursday, 5 to 8 p.m., shelter officials said. "Almost every day someone comes into the center to surrender or euthanize an animal because they can't afford a vet bill," Executive Director Joanna Hopkinson said. "We try to do as much as we can to help them." The clinic will offer low-cost rabies, distemper,...

Gov. Christie got the state budget he wanted, and now he's trying to blunt the effects of his severe cuts to towns and school districts. Using his flair for the dramatic, the governor called New Jersey legislators to a special session during this July Fourth holiday weekend. Their mission: Put a 2.5 percent lid on local spending, so that if local authorities want to spend more, they will have to ask voters' permission. New Jersey residents, Christie said in a speech to the Legislature on Thursday, "can't be bound, gagged, and forced to endure ever-higher taxes without their consent." A...

If he can do this for New Jersey, then why not the U.S.?It's one thing to TALK about reform. Meaningless slogans about hope and change only get you so far. But after the election is over you have to produce. What we are seeing with New Jersey's new Governor Chris Christie (R) is that he can produce. And he does it with common sense. The teacher's unions are screaming about cutbacks, but Christie turns their argument on it's head by pointing out that the people of New Jersey who are paying the bill have already suffered cutbacks in their personal...

TRENTON, N.J. - Democrats in the New Jersey Assembly have failed to override the Republican governor's veto of a tax surcharge on millionaires. Monday's vote was strictly along party lines. All 47 Assembly Democrats voted for the override and all 33 Republicans voted against it. The measure needed seven GOP votes to advance. The one-year surcharge would have raised about $600 million by increasing income taxes nearly two percent on the state's 16,000 highest wage earners. Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the tax last month after the Legislature passed it along party lines. The governor vetoed the tax because it would...

Senator Pleaded for Bank Bailout that Cost Taxpayers NJ Sen. Robert Menendez Lobbied Treasury to Bail Out Bank That Failed During the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, a member of the Senate Banking Committee urged the Treasury Department to provide bailout money to a struggling financial firm whose eventual collapse cost taxpayers $2.3 billion, newly released records show. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., wrote to then-Treasury secretary Henry Paulson in support of CIT Group, a New Jersey-based lender to businesses such as retail stores. Menendez touted CIT's importance to New Jersey and the nation and said the firm "provided...

You know what the best part of this is, aside from the teacher congratulating herself for doing it for the love after she just spent two minutes haranguing Christie about money? Apparently — if it’s the same Rita Wilson — she already makes in excess of $86,000. Perfect.

It took about two minutes from the time Senate President Steve Sweeney certified the passage of the millionaires tax package for Gov. Chris Christie to veto the bills at his desk. "While I have little doubt that the sponsors and supporters of this bill sincerely believe that the state can tax its way out of this financial crisis, I believe that this bill does nothing more than repeat the failed, irresponsible and unsustainable fiscal policies of the past," wrote Christie in his veto statement. "Now is not the time for more of the same. Ultimately, another tax increase will punish...

NEW JERSEY (WABC) -- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been in office for just three months, and a new eyewitness news poll shows voters are not giving him any kind of a honeymoon as he presses for budget cuts. Only 33% of New Jersey residents approve the job Christie is doing as governor. Nearly twice the number, 63% disapprove. The telephone poll by SurveyUSA has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.

WATCH GOV. CHRISTIE'S GREAT SPEECH ON FISCAL CONSERVATISM HERE

New Jersey’s leaders had a great idea for balancing the budget a few years back. Tap the state’s wealthy through hikes in income taxes, property taxes and even a “wealth tax”. So, how’s that working out? Not so well, reports the Newark Star-Ledger: More than $70 billion in wealth left New Jersey between 2004 and 2008 as affluent residents moved elsewhere, according to a report released Wednesday that marks a swift reversal of fortune for a state once considered the nation’s wealthiest.

Gov. Christie today declared that New Jersey had veered to the edge of bankruptcy and ordered a broad array of state cuts in an effort to make up a $2.2 billion deficit in the current budget amid falling revenues. Christie froze aid to more than 500 school districts and public colleges and universities, ordered the end to several state programs and the Office of Public Advocate, and seized unspent money across state government. "Today, we come to terms with the fact that we cannot spend money on everything we want,'' Christie told a special joint session of the legislature. "The...

“Jersey girl” Jacquelyn Jablonski is the young, beautiful muse showcasing the Ralph Lauren collection in Muse #20, photographed by Jason Nocito. And voilà, we are presented with the standard Lauren feel, look and classic lines, all hearkening us back to the stylish memes of early 20th century elegance in fashion.

Note: The following text is a quote: http://treas.gov/press/releases/tg46.htm March 3, 2009 TG-46 Treasury Designates Companies Tied to Iran’s Bank Melli as Proliferators Washington, DC -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated 11 companies under Executive Order 13382 for their ties to Iran's Bank Melli. E.O 13382 is an authority aimed at freezing the assets of Weapons of Mass Destruction proliferators and those who support them. Bank Melli has been designated as a proliferator by the United States, the European Union, and Australia for its role in Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Additionally, United Nations Security Council Resolution...

"You put that camera away! You put that camera away!" What started out as a peaceful protest in front of a church in Newark ends with an officer taking a news crew down.

Did voters in the elections last night say, "Yes," to "The Party of No?" Were the convincing victories in last night's elections a victory for the Republican Party? And, were they a defeat for President Obama?

I hope that Michael Steele and other GOP "leaders" were paying close atteniton to what happened here in Virginia and in New Jersey: Conservative Values Win In New Jersey And Virginia Governors' Races 84rules November 4, 2009

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine leads Republican challenger Christopher Christie for the first time in their five-month slugfest, on top 43 - 38 percent among likely voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Independent candidate Christopher Daggett has 13 percent, with 5 percent undecided. This compares to a 41 - 40 percent Christie lead, with 14 percent for Daggett, in an October 14 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. Among Daggett supporters, 38 percent say they might change their mind: 43 percent say Christie is their second choice, while 27 percent say Gov. Corzine is number two....

BERGENFIELD -- The former northern New Jersey political boss Joseph Ferriero was found guilty by a federal jury this afternoon, according to a report in The Record. During the third day of deliberations, Ferriero was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud and two counts of mail fraud, according to the report, but was acquitted on five other mail fraud counts.

Every time you think politics has hit a new low, it finds a way to go lower. I thought we had reached the nadir last month when Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted "You lie!" at President Barack Obama while he was speaking to a joint session of Congress. But then The New York Times caught me up on what has been happening in New Jersey. Campaigns there are rarely elevated affairs, but the battle between Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican challenger Christopher Christie has sunk to new depths. As the Times pointed out, a television ad for...

Authorities say a New Jersey teenager threatened to rape and kill his teacher if she did not give his entire class an "A++" for the last school year. Authorities say the 14-year-old boy made the threats in an e-mail sent in May. He has been identified only as a student at the Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology. He is also accused of threatening to rape the teacher's mother and sister if the grades were not changed within 48 hours. The boy turned himself in to Passaic County authorities Friday and was charged with making terroristic threats and criminal...

NEWARK—Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini and Edward Cheatam, an official in both Hudson County and Jersey City, were charged today in a one-count Indictment with conspiring to extort corrupt cash payments, illicit political contributions and other benefits under color of official right, in return for Beldini’s and an elected Jersey City official’s influence in Jersey City government matters, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., announced. Beldini, 74, and Cheatam, 61, both of Jersey City, were originally arrested on a criminal Complaint on the morning of July 23, 2009, along with 42 other individuals, resulting from a two-track federal...

Republican and former federal prosecutor Chris Christie has a double-digit edge over incumbent New Jersey Sen. Jon Corzine in the latest Quinnipiac poll out today. In the polling outfit’s first measure of likely voters in the November race, Christie leads 50%-40% as Corzine is facing his lowest ever approval ratings. A majority, 56%, say they disapprove of the job the governor is doing while 36% approve. It’s a notch lower than his 54%-38% rating in late May. Christie has more support within his own party ranks, with 88% of Republicans saying that are backing him while just 73% of Democrats...

Hannity talks to Chris Christie and Giuliaini.

President Barack Obama holds up a team jersey presented to him by Philadelphia Phillies baseball shortstop Jimmy Rollins, left, as Obama honored the 2008 World Series champions Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, May 15, 2009, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington President Barack Obama makes the Hawaiian 'shaka' hand gesture as he acknowledges Philadelphia Phillies baseball outfielder Shane Victorino, second from left, who is from Hawaii, as Obama honored the 2008 World Series champions Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, May 15, 2009, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. Manager Charlie Manuel is at left.

With just over three weeks until the June 2 Republican primary for governor, Lonegan's creeping poll numbers have forced his opponent to redirect ad spending against him. In short, there are signs Chris Christie has grasped the risk of underestimating Steven Mark Lonegan. Lonegan, 53, campaigns with the single-mindedness of a bloodhound and the subtlety of a rattlesnake. "That's part of his power: There's no bull," said Kristian Fraga, an independent filmmaker whose documentary, "Anytown, USA," chronicled the 2003 Bogota mayor's race. "He's definitely a force."

A member at ar15.com sent his congressman a teabag in the mail to protest their spending, and now his congressman's office is threatening him. The member says, "I told her no malice intended and asked if it was illegal to mail a teabag. I told her it was a in protest in response to the votes of the Congressman. I also told her I thought maybe they would enjoy a good cup of tea this afternoon. She was not amused but acted dumb as to why I sent it. She also said a RECORD of this would be made." Here...

Suspected Pedophile Nabbed Police arrested a suspected pedophile in New Jersey after launching a public appeal in the wake of a two-year international manhunt. Chip Reid reportshttp://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4081758n (AP) A rare international alert seeking a man shown in dozens of raw child porn images quickly led to the arrest of a small-time actor, who painted faces at children's parties and performed as "the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen." Wayne Nelson Corliss told authorities he had sex with three boys in Thailand six years ago, an experience he described as "euphoria," a prosecutor said Thursday at Corliss' first court...

N.J. Officer Allegedly Performed Sex Acts On Cows MOORESTOWN (CBS 3) ―Authorities announced Moorestown Officer Robert Melia Jr., 38, has been charged with four counts of animal cruelty after allegedly engaging in sex acts with cows between June and December of 2006.

CHILDREN from the Jersey House of Horrors were loaned to rich paedophile yachtsmen as galley SEX SLAVES, a News of the World investigation reveals. The youngsters were told by care staff the boat rides were treats—only to be assaulted and RAPED at sea by pervert toffs. Details of the sick attacks emerged as we discovered even more blood has been found in a bath in the dungeon underneath the Haut de la Garenne home—and in the drains. UNDER THREAT: Ministers voted to have investigator Harper taken off case And our reporters have been told how builders on renovations at the...