Six charged in Brick with criminal restraint in connection with loan
Police allege that six people went a little too far in trying to collect a debt from a woman. Michael R. Raciti along with five other people allegedly held Jamie Lusby at a house to try to get her to pay an $800 debt. She was kept in the house but unhurt, for several hours before being let go.
Also arrested was his mother, Collette Raciti, 52, and Vivian Crawford, 51, of Belmar. They were both charged with conspiracy to commit criminal restraint. Charges of complicity in committing restraint were filed against Patricia Cameron of Belmar, Curtis Laboo of Irvington and Melvin Laboo of Philadelphia.
Interesting case. It”ll cost them a lot more than $800 to get good lawyers, but with the right representation, this case could easily go away.
Story is here.
English teacher at Belvidere High School charged with sexual contact with student
These cases seem to get more common each day. This case involves Christopher Goffi, of Behlehem Township, Pa., who is (was) an English teacher and cross country coach at Belvidere High School. The alleged victim was a student between 16 and 18 years old and the alleged incident took place on December 14th.
That’s about all of the details that are out at the moment, but it does sound like he will be able to stay out of prison due to the student’s age.
Story is here.
Driver can expect serious charges after fatal crash
Brent Burke of Barnegat, New Jersey was headed north on Route 9 in the area of Bayshore Drive when he crossed the center line and veered into oncoming traffic. Burke’s Dodge Dakota collided head-on with a Chevy Trailblazer driven by Stephen Len, also of Barnegat. The impact sent Len’s vehicle into northbound lanes where it struck a car driven by Steve Catranis of Waretown. Catranis and his wife, Julie Catranis, were both airlifted to hospital where Steve Catranis died. Julie Catranis is listed in critical condition.
Barnegat police reported that Burke fled the scene following the crash. He was later found and cited for driving under the influence. He can expect vehicular homide charges to be filed on Monday and, based upon a number of factors including his BAC, he will likely be charged with aggravated manslaughter. If that happens, he’ll need a good attorney to secure a good plea.
These cases are very tough to try and the the State will get a flight charge if the case goes to trial. As a result, the jury will hate him even more than they already do. We’ll have to see who he gets as an attorney.
Jury finds client not guilty of burglary charges in 20 minutes
This was a tough case. My client is a 7’2 Hispanic man so you cannot confuse him with anyone else. He was charged with burglary of his ex-girlfriend’s house and theft of thousands of dollars of her property. A neighbor testified that he saw my client in the driveway of the home at the time of the burglary. My client also lied to his ex by telling her that he was in Florida at the time. He also sent her a text message on the same day asking her if anyone would be home during the time of the burglary. My client did not have a solid alibi for the time of the burglary either. Thus, the State seemed to have a slam dunk case. Nevertheless, I fought hard for the client and methodically exposed all of the holes in the State’s case. I estimate that it only took the jury 20 minutes to reach their not guilty verdict. The incredible speed of that verdict tells me that the jury had no question about my client’s innocence which was amazing to me given the strength of the State’s case on paper. I doubt I will be able to get a faster verdict than that in the future as it takes time to take a vote and fill out the form. Thus, this is what I consider, an instant verdict.
Client gets probation for role in robberies
My client was facing charges of first degree robbery for being the get away driver for two robberies. He confessed before he hired me and as a result, he was facing 10 to 20 years for each robbery count. Of that, he would have to serve 85% before he would be eligible to be released on parole. Needless to say, the State had good case since the client confessed. The case took over a year and a half to finish up. The plea offer was 3 years in prison without 85%. Getting that plea offer was very difficult. Getting the Court to go along with it would have been a great accomplishment in and of itself. So, I was happy that we got that. At sentencing, my associate Jennifer Marshall filled in for me. Even though it seemed like an impossible take, she argued for probation. The Court was so persuaded by her arguments that the Court sentenced the client to a probationary term so that he did not have to spend one day in jail/prison.
North Brunswick football coach under investigation for possible altercation with student
Football coach and social studies teacher Mark Zielinski is under investigation for possibly having “some sort of conflict” with a student at a home game on Oct. 23. Oddly enough, this accusation just came out over the weekend. The parents of the child claim that this was because they were waiting for the football season to be over.
This coach needs a good attorney but I’m afraid he will get a union attorney who may do next to nothing for him. His attorney needs to launch a full investigation today. Not next week. not next month, not waiting to see what happens. Lock everyone into a statement now and figure out who is friend or foe. Not only will this help the attorney prepare for the defense of the case but it will likely shut down the entire case right here.
Why do people opt for the no-cost or low-cost attorney? In my opinion, it is usually because people are in denial and they think that nothing bad will happen. Of course, people like this coach have everything on the line so they should get the best help they can get. We’ll see where this goes.
Story is here.
Assistant pastor for Mahwah Full Gospel Church charged with sexual assault
Curtis Franklin, the assistant pastor for Mahwah Full Gospel Church in Bergen County has been charged with sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and child endangerment. The State alleges that he assaulting a girl, whom he met through the church’s youth ministry, about six years ago. What took six years and why all of a sudden this came up is unknown.
I’m not sure how much assistant pastors make but he really needs a good attorney. It is possible to win this case if the attorney knows what he or she is doing. The timing of all this will be the key focus of the case. Of course, this assumes that he did not confess.
Story is here.
Edison high school coach/South Plainfield teacher charged with sexual assault
Let the debate begin. Another female teacher charged with sexual contact wiith a minor. My guess is that she will not do any jail time. She’ll get a union attorney and this case will go away quickly. These cases just seem to have a pattern.
Sarah Blessing, 27, of South Plainfield, a coach at Bishop George Ahr High School and a fifth-grade teacher at Park Middle School in Scotch Plains, has been charged with sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a girl. The State alleges that she had a relationship with a girl that began in June and continued until her arrest.
Story is here.
New Jersey DYFS Attorney
To speak to a NJ DYFS Lawyer right now, call 732-773-2768.
My phone seems to be ringing off the hook lately with people calling up about DYFS cases. In New Jersey, DYFS cases can be independent of any criminal case or they can be integral to a criminal investigation and/or charge. For example, DYFS can close a case but the County Prosecutor’s office can pick it up and prosecute one or both of the parents. Likewise, DYFS can take action against a parent even though the Prosecutor’s Office has not brought any charges.
On the other hand, a police investigation can lead to DYFS involvement and more importantly, a DYFS investigation can quickly turn into a criminal investigation. Besides the police, DYFS in New Jersey can be called by a hospital, a school or a neighbor. Thus, it is extremely important to call a New Jersey DYFS attorney at the first sign of trouble. Some people wait for months but quite often, it is far too late at that point. Anything said to DYFS, hospital staff, school officials and police can be used against the parent in both a case to terminate parental rights and the criminal case.
Common DYFS allegations in NJ include: shaken baby syndrome, sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, drug abuse and alcohol abuse. If there are criminal charges, at least one of the charges usually includes endangering the welfare of a child.
DYFS may claim that the same attorney cannot represent a parent in a DYFS case and the resulting criminal case. They may fear that the information received in the DYFS case may provide the parent with an advantage in the criminal case as the parent will receive evidence that may be unavailable to the usual criminal defendant. However, New Jersey courts have shot this down and the law is clear: one attorney can represent the same person in both proceedings. However, they may still try to catch a naive attorney off guard. Thus, hiring a knowledgeable New Jersey lawyer is important.
If you have a pending DYFS investigation or case in any court in New Jersey, call the team of tough, smart lawyers that will fight for you. With 10 offices in New Jersey, we are easy to reach no matter where you live. Call 732-773-2768 to speak with our NJ DYFS lawyers at any time of the day.
Offices in Toms River (Ocean County) Freehold, Red Bank, Eatontown (Monmouth County) New Brunswick, Woodbridge, East Brunswick (Middlesex County) Princeton (Mercer County) Jersey City (Hudson County) and Newark (Essex County).
New website
We have a new website for our princeton office: http://www.princetondivorceattorney.com
http://www.monmouthcountydivorceattorney.com
http://www.redbankdivorcelawyer.com
http://www.oceancountydivorceattorney.com
You can also check out these sites:
Tonacchio Law LC 