TRENTON - New Jersey became the last state in the nation to allow drug users access to clean needles without a prescription when Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed legislation Tuesday to allow pilot needle-exchange programs in as many as six cities. "This is long overdue," Corzine said. "Quite simply, this bill will save lives." Atlantic City and Camden are expected to start the state's first legal needle-exchange programs sometime within the next three months. Both city councils passed needle-exchange ordinances in 2004 that were ultimately struck down in court. [continues 737 words]
New Jersey was foolish to ignore compelling data and not allow needle exchange programs that stop the spread of AIDS for so long. It took a long time, too long, but New Jersey's state lawmakers finally did the right thing last week and approved pilot needle-exchange programs in Camden, Atlantic City and four other New Jersey municipalities. New Jersey had been the last state in the union not to allow either needle-exchange programs -- in which injection-drug users turn in their dirty needles for clean ones -- or the sale of clean syringes without a prescription. [continues 635 words]
The Dec. 1 article "Advocates to launch new push for needle exchange program" exemplified how concerns about drug abuse can cast too wide of a net. Caught in that net are those suffering from HIV and AIDS who became infected without taking illegal drugs. Many such victims' disease had a dirty needle in the chain of infection, where a clean needle could have broken that chain. Sadly, as some of those sufferers progress and near the end of their lives, they become affected by a wasting syndrome, where even preparing food will make you extremely nauseous. The result is inability to keep food down, leaving the body emaciated and vulnerable. For many, marijuana would quell that nausea and improve their quality of life. [continues 209 words]
TRENTON - It took more than a decade to muster the votes, but the New Jersey Legislature approved a pilot program yesterday that would allow intravenous drug users to swap their dirty needles for clean ones. The Senate and Assembly both voted to allow six cities to establish needle exchanges, a move proponents say will go a long way toward reducing the spread of blood-borne disease, particularly HIV-AIDS, through the sharing of infected needles. Officials in drug-plagued Camden and Atlantic City have already said they would apply to participate in the program, which Gov. Corzine said yesterday he would sign into law. [continues 777 words]
New Jersey, the last state in the union that banned syringe exchanges for intravenous drug users, enacted a law yesterday that provides legal access to clean needles. In separate votes, the General Assembly and the State Senate approved a pilot program in six municipalities, as yet undetermined, in which drug users can turn in dirty needles for sterile syringes. Gov. Jon S. Corzine is expected to sign the bill, known as the Bloodborne Disease Harm Reduction Act, into law. The law also provides $10 million for drug treatment facilities. [end]
Divided Senate and Assembly Approve Program After Emotional Debate After more than a dozen years and countless hours of impassioned debate, the Legislature yesterday passed a bill to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS among drug addicts by allowing needle exchange programs in six cities. Gov. Jon Corzine said he would sign the bill into law quickly. "The science is clear: Needle exchange programs reduce sharing of contaminated needles, reduce transmission of HIV and hepatitis C and serve as gateways to treatment," Corzine said. [continues 596 words]
North Jersey's legislators have a chance this week to save lives. The Assembly and Senate will vote Monday on bills that would give drug addicts access to clean syringes. The bills would slow the spread of HIV among addicts, their sexual partners and children. Legislators should vote for these life-saving measures. New Jersey is now in the shameful position of being the only state in which illicit drug users have no access to sterile needles. State laws forbid pharmacists from selling syringes without a prescription, and bar the establishment of needle-exchange programs in which drug addicts could get sterile syringes. [continues 327 words]
Officials Are Holding Discussions With the Public About Random Drug Testing of Student Athletes, Those Who Drive to School, Park on Campus or Leave the Campus for Senior Privileges. WEST AMWELL -- Not all parents want to begin random drug testing of students at South Hunterdon Regional High School, but many of the approximately 30 who attended a discussion last week expressed interest. "Our concerns here are related to alcohol and marijuana," Superintendent Lisa Brady said. "Here and nationally, they are the most prevalent in terms of use." [continues 731 words]
TRENTON - The Assembly appropriations committee approved legislation Monday to allow New Jersey municipalities to start their own needle exchanges in order to slow the spread of HIV among drug users. The approval came after a testy verbal exchange between a leading proponent of the bill and the state senator who has led the fight to block it. Annette Lizzul, 44, of Lakewood, Ocean County, approached state Sen. Ronald Rice after watching him give an interview before the start of the hearing. Lizzul contracted the HIV virus in 1986 from her boyfriend, a closet heroin user who got infected by sharing needles. [continues 282 words]
Sponsor Sees Bill As HIV Weapon TRENTON -- New Jersey took a step closer Monday to offering free needles to addicts as a measure to fight HIV, the latest step along a tortuous legislative path that has generated passionate arguments from supporters and detractors. The 8-4 vote in the Assembly Appropriations Committee came along party lines, with one of the majority Democrats abstaining, in favor of seeding $10 million in taxpayer money for drug-abuse treatment programs and to allow six municipalities to begin needle-exchange centers. [continues 327 words]
Sometimes, when troublemakers enter Papa Joe's diner on Tennessee Avenue, Joe Boccino glares at them until they leave. Other times, he pulls out his black Easton baseball bat and raps it hard -- once, twice, three times -- on the counter. "You're in the middle of crack city," Mr. Boccino said yesterday at his restaurant, surveying this blighted corner of Atlantic City, where the authorities think at least some of the four women found dead in a drainage ditch on Monday were known and spent much of their time. [continues 1045 words]
This fall, New Jersey became the first state to launch a statewide steroid-testing program for high school athletes. The program calls for random testing of athletes who qualify for team or individual state tournaments. Each test will cost $150 to $200; the New Jersey high school association and the state each will give $50,000 to cover the bill. Those who test positive will be penalized with a one-year loss of eligibility. Frank Uryasz, the president of the National Center for Drug Free Sport, a Kansas City, Mo., company hired to administer New Jersey's testing program, said it could become a model for other states. [continues 821 words]
Eric Roppenecker, dead at 18. Heroin laced with fentanyl. Holly Gillis, 21, heroin, codeine and a prescription medication for anxiety. Christopher Loeffler, 20, heroin. Heather Chiego, 20, morphine. Patrick Walsh, 24, heroin. This is since June. In Morris County alone. And only people under 25. Not older adults or those in places like Newark or Elizabeth, where such deaths no longer shock the community, only add to its sadness. "We have a problem we want to address." These were the words of Joe Adamus, the Hanover Park Regional superintendent as he introduced the idea of random drug testing at his two high schools, Hanover Park and Whippany Park, last week. [continues 549 words]
Trying New Angles and Approaches They may not wear uniforms or carry handcuffs, but members of Cranbury's Municipal Alliance Committee are hard at work this year protecting and educating Cranbury residents of all ages about the dangers of substance abuse. "We've decided to divide our energies into education for the children, education for the community, our seniors and parents and then alternative activities for our teenagers," Cranbury Municipal Alliance Chairwoman Jane Holland said. The Municipal Alliance was established in 1990 to coordinate community efforts to reduce drug and alcohol abuse. This year, Cranbury's group is trying to reach residents from different areas of the community, especially children, teens and seniors, Ms. Holland said. [continues 1027 words]
Jim Miller's activism, as recounted in his letter headlines, "Marijuana festival example of peaceful march" on Oct. 16, is encouraging. Activism for freedom of choice to use cannabis without threat of jail has produced election ballot amendments in Colorado and Nevada, which will make them the first states to legalize cannabis for adults. Colorado was the 1st state to repeal the original prohibition and Colorado may be the first to repeal the sequel. One reason to legalize cannabis (marijuana) that doesn't get mentioned is because it is biblically correct, since Christ indicates he created all the seed-bearing plants saying they are all good, on literally the very first page - Genesis 1:11-12, 29-30. The only biblical restriction place on cannabis is that it be accepted with thankfulness - 1. Timothy 4:1-5. It's time to stop persecuting and caging humans for using what God says it good. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Camden no longer is the most dangerous city in the United States. That dubious distinction now belongs to St. Louis, while Camden -- which finished atop the rankings in 2004 and 2005 -- now ranks fifth. The rankings are based on the prior year's crime statistics. "It's not good, but at least we're making progress toward reducing crime, violence and drugs," City Council President Angel Fuentes said. "It's good for investors (and) good for the people of Camden to know we're moving toward that end." [continues 350 words]
Event Educates Children About Healthy Living JAMESBURG -- The school district kicked off its annual Red Ribbon Week on Monday, educating students on the dangers of drug use and the importance of exercise and eating right. Students at John F. Kennedy and Grace M. Breckwedel schools took part in a number of events meant to emphasize the week's message in a positive and memorable way, according to JFK Principal Al Perno. "It's something that we emphasize year-round, but it's nice to take a week and set it aside and really highlight the importance of saying 'no' to drugs and living a healthy lifestyle to kids so they don't start to take it for granted after a while," he said. "Particularly at this age, (the kids) are very impressionable, and if we can really lay a solid foundation now to help them make responsible decisions, it'll go a long way when they get older and they face peer pressure." [continues 541 words]
I had the pleasure of attending the 36th annual Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival in Madison, Wisc. on Oct. 9th. I was there primarily to talk about medical marijuana during a rally at the steps of the capitol building. The procession to the rally site was about a mile through town and consisted of several hundred people demanding equal rights for cannabis consumers as well as medical marijuana rights for seriously ill and dying Wisconsin residents. Although there was a whole weekend of music, speakers and vendors of a wide variety of things to purchase of the legal nature, it was the mile-long march that offered the best lesson about marijuana consumption and its consequences. [continues 178 words]
New Jersey lawmakers moved closer Thursday to joining the rest of the nation in allowing communities to have needle exchange programs. The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee voted to release a bill allowing such programs out of the committee by a 9 to 5 vote. The bill, however, was not passed with a recommendation that the full Senate pass it. The Bloodborne Disease Harm Reduction Act would allow New Jersey to develop a needle exchange program in order to help prevent the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. Six municipalities would be allowed to run pilot programs. [continues 341 words]
The measure would grant six communities the authority to create pilot syringe-exchange programs. TRENTON - A measure aimed at curbing the spread of AIDS by supplying intravenous drug abusers with clean needles cleared the state Senate budget committee yesterday, moving the contentious bill farther along in the Senate than it has ever gone before. New Jersey continues to be the only state in the nation that doesn't provide drug abusers access to sterile syringes. State Sen. Nia Gill (D., Essex) noted New Jersey's "dubious distinction" yesterday while she lauded the bill's forward movement. [continues 301 words]
District Plans Program, Poster Contest As Part Of National Awareness Week RANDOLPH -- The township school district will celebrate Red Ribbon Week Oct. 23-27 in order to show unity for a drug-free America. "Red Ribbon Week offers us the opportunity to be proactive in teaching kids the skills needed for wise decision-making in addressing tobacco, alcohol and drug-related decisions,"Diane Auerbach, Randolph Middle School's student assistance counselor, said in an e-mail. The event kicks off Oct. 23 with Red Ribbon Posters displayed in the front hallways of the school buildings. [continues 185 words]
The Measure Would Grant Six Communities The Authority To Create Pilot Syringe-Exchange Programs Trenton -- A measure aimed at curbing the spread of AIDS by supplying intravenous drug abusers with clean needles cleared the state Senate budget committee yesterday, moving the contentious bill farther along in the Senate than it has ever gone before. New Jersey continues to be the only state in the nation that doesn't provide drug abusers access to sterile syringes. State Sen. Nia Gill (D., Essex) noted New Jersey's "dubious distinction" yesterday while she lauded the bill's forward movement. [continues 299 words]
A 2006 Whippany Park High School graduate was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose in the basement apartment of a Tremont Drive home. Eric K. Roppenecker, 18, had lived in Hanover previously and had moved to the basement of 3 Tremont Drive about three months ago, police said. "The investigation to this point reveals a probable drug overdose," Detective Lt. Brian Monaghan said today. A female friend of Roppenecker -- who worked with him at a title agency in the area, which police did not name -- was worried when Roppenecker did not show up for work yesterday. She called police and told them where he lived. [continues 209 words]
New Jersey may be getting a new weapon to help fight the spread of HIV/AIDS among addicts. The auburn-haired, green-eyed slip of a woman, looking older than her 20 years, says she started shooting heroin two months ago. The woman, who gave her name as Dana Nelson, talks about getting clean for her 2-year-old son, but she's not ready. For now, she just tries to be careful as she walks Camden's streets, trading sex for money. [continues 1249 words]
To the Editor: Thanks for publishing Jesse Alt's outstanding letter: "Push for profits killing kids". I'd like to add that when pure pharmaceutical grade Bayer heroin sold for about the same price as aspirin, drug dealers were not giving kids free samples of heroin or any other types of recreational drugs. In fact, drug dealers as we know them today, didn't exist. Neither did drug lords, drug cartels or even so-called "drug-related crime." [continues 3 words]
WASHINGTON TWP. -- District officials say that a new drug awareness program for the elementary schools, written by two of its teachers, is tailored to help kids deal with the issues they face today. The new program, Students in Training to Act Responsibly in Township, or START, will be taught to students in first through fifth grade instead of Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, or DARE, which has been taught in schools since 1983. Teachers Nick Bozza and Domenick Renzi said the START program, which they developed last year, teaches lessons similar to those taught in DARE, such as dealing with peer pressure and resisting drugs and violence. [continues 354 words]
To the Editor: I was saddened to read of yet another young life lost to drug abuse in the article, "Amid honest admissions, denials, drug-related deaths keep on rising" (Sep. 24). The article mentioned that many arrested in Operation Painkiller were recent high school graduates. No surprise, the young are most likely to abuse drugs. How can we prevent these problems and keep drugs away from kids? The drug war has failed. Nearly 40 years after then President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs, no visible progress has been made unless you count increasing budgets (estimated at $69 billion per year) or increasing prison population (the U.S. now has the highest imprisonment rate in the world). We should legalize and regulate drugs. [continues 72 words]
All Other States Make Needles Available Without Prescription; Health Officials Say That Lowers Drug-Related HIV Cases New Jersey, the last state with restrictions on access to syringes without a prescription, may be ready to end its ban in the name of AIDS prevention. All other states allow over-the-counter sales of syringes in pharmacies or let drug users exchange used needles for sterile ones. Now New Jersey may go along. A bill authorizing six cities to launch needle-exchange programs cleared the state Senate health committee last month, the furthest such a proposal has gone since a needle exchange bill was first introduced in 1993. [continues 730 words]
His parents appeared to do everything right. They kicked their son out of the house but did not abandon him. They gave him food and love, but not money to contribute to his drug habit. Thomas Eugene Bennington, 23, had lived on the streets of New York City but had been living with his parents in Chatham Township for the past couple of years and lately seemed to be getting his life in order. He even started to care about the way he looked, the clothes he wore, taking time to shave.He had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and his parents said he finally seemed to be on medication that helped. He worked at a gas station and was learning basic auto repair. He was proud of his job. [continues 1079 words]
City Sees A Jump In Overdoses In his years treating people on the streets of Trenton, EMT Ray Krajocovics has seen it happen many times. A heroin overdose victim is found unconscious and in need of a life-saving antidote. But as soon as the solution takes effect, the person is able to jump up and run away. But since the beginning of August, Trenton EMS responders are finding many heroin overdose victims have not been able to sit up after getting the antidote. Instead, they are in a near-coma state, and increasingly investigators suspect that it's because the heroin they used has been laced with highly potent fentanyl that has come onto the market in the Trenton region. [continues 502 words]
Thomas Eugene Bennington, a young man from Chatham Township, died at home last Sunday. That is what his obituary said. It went on to say he had a sense of humor. He was loved. His parents included another message in the obituary, something they wanted other parents to read. It said their 23-year-old son died "of drug-related causes." Bennington family members said they weren't ready to talk publicly this past week. They were waiting for tests to reveal the exact cause of death as they prepared for a funeral Saturday. They were trying to do some good with the obituary they placed in newspapers. People from their church were talking about it, their pastor said, and maybe that would get some parents talking to their children about drugs. [continues 1006 words]
Mendham Summit Looks For Ways To Stem Wave Of Abuse MENDHAM -- A record 30 people have died from drug overdoses in Morris County this year -- the highest number since 24 people died in 2002 - -- and toxicology tests are pending on three suspected overdose deaths, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said on Wednesday. The number was revealed at the Parents-in-Partnership Drug Awareness Summit on Wednesday at the Daytop drug rehabilitation center, sponsored by the prosecutor's office, the Morris County schools superintendent and Daytop-New Jersey. [continues 1241 words]
There was excitement in Roseanne Scotti's voice. "The Senate Health Committee approved the needle bill," she said on the phone. "It took them all day, and it was wild. For a while, things looked bad. But they voted it out." Her elation was easy to understand. As director of the Drug Policy Alliance of New Jersey, Scotti is one of a handful of advocates who have toiled year after year to push the "needle bill" through the Legislature. Last Monday, the Health Committee, the bill's perennial executioner, approved a compromise version with the five votes needed to put it in position for a first-ever vote by the full Senate. [continues 886 words]
I'm saddened to read that needle-exchange bills have stalled in the New Jersey Legislature for more than two years. Just imagine the potential hepatitis C or HIV infections that could have been prevented. My 33 years as a nurse, seven as a street nurse, have proved to me that syringe exchange is an invaluable public-health strategy. Decrease needle sharing, and blood-borne diseases are averted. Treatment access is facilitated and supported when requested. Sound science declares syringe access successful in disease prevention while not "condoning" or increasing drug use. Good luck, New Jersey. Elizabeth Wehrman LeClaire, Ind. [end]
PEQUANNOCK -- Tests have found traces of fentanyl in the needle Chris Loeffler used the night of his fatal overdose in July. Police confirmed Thursday that fluid in the 20-year-old's syringe tested positive for both heroin and fentanyl, an opiate 100 times stronger than morphine. The drug is sometimes mixed with heroin for an increased high and has been blamed for hundreds of deaths around the country this year. Morris County has not had a fentanyl death since 2002. A spokesman for the county Prosecutor's Office cautioned that it would be impossible to specifically blame the drug for Loeffler's death. [continues 262 words]
CAMDEN, N.J. -- On most days, the fringe workers in this city's stunningly vibrant drug trade shout and gesticulate from street corners like hot dog vendors at a ballpark, hawking hypodermic needles they claim are clean. "Works for sale! Works for sale!" But the shouting stopped at one corner recently after one of those dealers died of a drug overdose. For his loyal customers, it was a disaster, however briefly. "It was a drought of works," said Maria Lugo, 26, who said that she injects heroin eight times a day. "People were picking up old needles off the street. They didn't care. They just wanted to get off." [continues 811 words]
NEWARK -- Bidding on the abandoned contents of a storage locker is often a game of chance, sometimes producing valuable antiques, other times a pile of moldy clothes. One man who makes a living off such auctions had perhaps his most interesting find last Wednesday. After winning three large bins from one storage room, he opened them up and found five handguns; 30 police evidence bags containing cocaine, marijuana and heroin; a pile of money; and nearly 50 case files from the Irvington Police Department. [continues 446 words]
"Substance Awareness For Empowerment" Will Now Be Taught Township middle school students will no longer participate in the 10-week Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, and will instead use the Substance Awareness for Empowerment program, which was designed by the township Police Department. Patrol Officer Gene Rickle, who has worked as a DARE officer and a school resource officer since 2000, developed the new four-week program and wrote the manual that the children will use during the class. All township middle school students will participate in the program, slated to start in the beginning of October, Officer Rickle said. [continues 452 words]
You and your law-abiding neighbors in New Jersey might be just one street address away from a life-threatening, midnight raid by a local paramilitary police unit. As these so-called SWAT squads increasingly become America's favored search warrant delivery service, bungled raids -- including many to the wrong address -- have skyrocketed. In these assaults on private property, scores of innocent citizens, police officers and nonviolent offenders have died. In a recent CATO Institute report titled "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America," Radley Balko describes how, "Over the last 25 years, America has seen a disturbing militarization of its civilian law enforcement, along with a dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units for routine police work. The most common use of SWAT teams today is to serve narcotics warrants, usually with forced, unannounced entry into the home." [continues 544 words]
New Jersey lawmakers will soon consider whether to pass into law the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (S-88 and A-933). The act would remove the statewide criminal penalties for the use, possession and cultivation of a small amount of marijuana for qualified patients under a program administered by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS). The Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey (CMM-NJ) urges lawmakers to support the bill as it is written. Some lawmakers have said that the bill is too broad--that too many patients will qualify for medical marijuana when it passes. CMM-NJ opposes any attempt to restrict the diseases or conditions that would qualify a New Jersey patient for medical marijuana. This is a question that is properly left only to the treating physician. There are, moreover, a number of rare conditions that respond well to medical marijuana. [continues 757 words]
A bill to create New Jersey's first needle exchange program cleared a key legislative panel late Monday following a day's worth of debate and negotiation. The move came despite testimony from opponents such as David Evans, executive director of the Flemington-based Drug-Free Schools Coalition and a Hunterdon County resident. "It encourages drug use," Evans said of the program. "I think it sends a message and the message to kids is, 'Look, the government says it's OK for me to do it because they give me the means to do it.'" [continues 323 words]
TRENTON -- The state Senate Health Committee will vote Monday on legislation that would allow needle-exchange programs in New Jersey. New Jersey is the only state in the country that does not allow the sale of clean needles -- either at pharmacies or through exchange programs -- as a way to combat the spread of HIV. Delaware adopted needle exchanges before the Legislature's summer break. State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who chairs the Senate Health Committee, said last month he would not bring the bill up for a vote until it had the necessary support. Needle-exchange bills have been stalled in the state Senate Health Committee for more than two years. [continues 346 words]
Trenton -- Following a long and controversial route, two bills that would give intravenous drug users access to clean needles may be approved by the Senate health committee next week. The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee will meet Monday to consider a pair of bills that would allow anyone to buy syringes without a prescription and allow municipalities to set up needle exchange programs. Needle exchange has been pushed by state lawmakers for more than a decade but hasn't been able to get through the Legislature, leaving New Jersey as the only state without a program despite the support of Gov. Jon S. Corzine, Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-West Orange, and Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, D-Camden. [continues 251 words]
The Middletown Board of Education needs to educate itself on the limitations of student drug testing. ("Teens' use of alcohol, drugs is prevalent; Middletown may test kids," Aug. 29.) Student involvement in after-school activities such as sports has been shown to reduce drug use. They keep kids busy during the hours they are most likely to get into trouble. Forcing students to undergo degrading urine tests as a prerequisite will only discourage participation. Drug testing may also compel marijuana users to switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive. [continues 158 words]
Event a Response to Arrests in 'Operation Painkiller'and 20 Deaths in County MENDHAM -- Morris County and federal law enforcement officials are sponsoring a drug awareness summit for parents, educators and service providers on Sept. 20 at the Daytop New Jersey substance abuse facility in Mendham. The "Parents-In-Partnership" summit was conceived in the wake of drug arrests made July 27 as part of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office's "Operation Painkiller." Some 60 young adults -- mostly from the communities of Hanover, East Hanover and Florham Park -- were charged with possessing or conspiring to sell the painkiller Oxycodone, which Prosecutor Michael M. Rubbinaccio identified as "a gateway drug" to harder narcotics like heroin. [continues 249 words]
Provides For Random Testing Of Athletes The Hoboken Board of Education has adopted a new "Drug Free Schools Policy and Procedure," which will allow school officials to randomly test students who participate in athletics. The policy is based on recommendations from the state's Department of Law and Public Safety and Department of Education. School officials are now allowed to conduct random testing of all high school students who are members of athletic teams for steroids, alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, and marijuana. [continues 386 words]
TOMS RIVER - Sen. Thomas Kean Jr., R-Union, talked about beach replenishment on beaches in Lavallette and Ortley Beach, where the sand was covered with waves during the weekend's storms. Kean, building up support in his bid against Sen. Robert Menendez for U.S. Senate, said he would work on a bipartisan basis to return taxpayers' money to New Jersey. "We need someone in D.C. who will get the money back," he said. "Unfortunately, we only get 55 cents back for every dollar we send to D.C." [continues 354 words]
His 2004 arrest led contractor Terry Jacobs to hook two S. Jersey officials in an ongoing bribery probe. A drug bust that drew little attention when it went down more than two years ago has turned out to be a key element in a far-reaching South Jersey political-corruption probe that broke into the open last week with guilty pleas by politicians from Atlantic City and Camden. While officials in both cities wait for the other shoe to drop - more charges are expected - investigators remained tight-lipped about the bribery-extortion probe and the Jan. 30, 2004, arrest of Atlantic County contractor Terry Jacobs for having five kilograms of cocaine. [continues 757 words]
TRENTON -- Family and friends of an alleged heroin cartel power-player brought down by 2004's "Operation Golden Triangle" begged a judge yesterday for leniency, claiming he's not the big-time drug dealer the attorney general's office made him out to be. Judge Maryann Bielamowicz just wasn't buying it. Yesterday, the former county prosecutor sentenced Robert Cashwell, 34, of Elizabeth, to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for bringing 8,950 decks of heroin into the city for resale June 25, 2004. [continues 629 words]
The dime bags seized in Cranford were called "Bloody Money" and "Superman." The drug samples found in Hillside during a vehicle stop were called "Dunkin Donuts." But more ominous than the names were what authorities announced yesterday they found inside: fentanyl-laced heroin. It's the first confirmed appearance in northeast New Jersey of a drug cocktail that has in recent months become a public health scourge, trigging a rash of overdoses and deaths in South Jersey, Philadelphia and New York. [continues 678 words]
Inside New Jersey
