New Jersey

Letters from unknown ‘Watcher’ spark suit against seller of upscale home and title company

One of their reasons for purchasing a $1.3 million home in Westfield, New Jersey, was the New York City bedroom community’s reputation for safety, the buyers say. But a letter they received from “The Watcher” a few days after closing destroyed their sense of security, making it impossible for them…

Jun 16, 2015 1:20 PM CDT

Closing attorney gets 12 months for his role in mortgage-fraud scheme

A disbarred New Jersey lawyer was sentenced Thursday to a 12-month federal prison term for his role in a mortgage-fraud scheme. Federal prosecutors said Amedeo Gaglioti, 60, issued two sets of closing documents to conceal what was really happening in real estate transactions for which he served as a closing…

Jun 5, 2015 11:05 AM CDT

Prosecutors allege lawyer accumulated $800K in cash, structured bank deposits to avoid IRS reports

Federal prosecutors allege a New Jersey lawyer accumulated $800,000 in cash and structured bank deposits to avoid bank reporting requirements for deposits above $10,000. Jersey City lawyer Magdy Fouad Anise, who is also known as Michael Anise, was charged in an indictment (PDF) with one count of structuring cash transactions…

Jun 5, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Judicial law clerk quits after taking heat for Web posts criticizing state trooper who died in crash

A law clerk for a New Jersey judge has resigned from her job after taking heat over comments she made via Facebook that criticized a state trooper killed after crashing into a deer while on duty. Disagreeing with commenters on the news site who praised the trooper as a hero,…

Jun 4, 2015 3:45 PM CDT

Lawyer sues owner of racehorse American Pharoah for $10M, says response to client’s suit defamed him

A New York lawyer representing a man seeking repayment of a claimed seven-figure gambling debt from the the owner of Triple Crown contender American Pharoah has now added a new lawsuit to the legal drama. Attorney Joseph Bainton filed a federal suit Monday in New Jersey against racehorse owner Ahmed…

Jun 2, 2015 1:05 PM CDT

Former in-house lawyer admits stealing $2.6M from his company

A former in-house lawyer who is being treated for a gambling addiction admitted on Tuesday that he stole $2.6 million from the New Jersey home health-care company that employed him. Matthew Neugeboren, 39, of Manalapan, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in Trenton federal court to wire fraud and filing a false…

May 27, 2015 10:26 AM CDT

$200K sanction could close my law firm, lawyer tells court

A Minneapolis lawyer is facing a double hit in a civil suit accusing his client of defrauding auto buyers in the former Soviet Union. Minneapolis lawyer Boris Parker says the client, Sergey Kapustin, owes him $125,000 in unpaid fees. Now Parker is fighting a potential $200,000 sanction for negotiating a…

May 26, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Lawyer’s suit claims jail officer’s upskirt search with metal-detecting wand amounted to assault

A New Jersey lawyer claims a sheriff’s officer who screened her during a jail visit committed assault and battery when he placed his metal-detecting wand under her skirt. Hackettstown lawyer Bonita Bourke says in a lawsuit that she was so upset over the incident that she vomited after leaving the…

May 20, 2015 8:27 AM CDT

Suspended judge indicted over fugitive found at her home in 2013

A suspended New Jersey superior court judge has been indicted over a man arrested in 2013 at her home in Woodbridge. Judge Carlia Brady is accused of hindering the apprehension of the man, Jason Prontnicki, who was wanted in connection with a pharmacy armed robbery case and described as her…

May 14, 2015 11:50 AM CDT

Judge says Facebook has right to sue DLA Piper and other firms for representing now-fugitive Ceglia

Facebook Inc. and founder Mark Zuckerberg can pursue civil litigation against DLA Piper and other law firms that represented Paul Ceglia in a fraudulent claim of ownership of the social media site, a New York state court judge ruled Monday. Milberg and Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman also are named as…

May 12, 2015 4:20 PM CDT

TSA returns $100K watch forgotten by traveler, after investigating ownership claim

Travelers so frequently forget items at airport security checkpoints that the federal Transportation Security Administration has a routine procedure for logging and holding lost property. However, a watch left at Newark Liberty International Airport on Tuesday apparently required some extra effort. Covered in gold and diamonds, the Cartier timepiece is…

May 8, 2015 7:30 AM CDT

Judge’s unusual paternity case ruling: Dad fathered one twin, but not the other

There was good news and bad news when DNA test results arrived for a man who contested paternity of twin girls a New Jersey woman said he had fathered. He was the father of one of the girls, but not the other. In what is said to be the first…

May 8, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Ex-aide takes plea, 2 more allies of NJ gov face charges in ‘Bridgegate’ traffic-jam case

A former aide tof New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took a plea Friday and two more individuals were federally indicted in the so-called Bridgegate case over a claimed scheme to create traffic jams to punish a Democratic mayor of Fort Lee who didn’t endorse the Republican’s re-election. The ex-aide, David…

May 4, 2015 4:20 PM CDT

Employee plans harassment suit against retired county prosecutor, seeks ‘breast of the day’ emails

The retirement of a New Jersey county prosecutor is being roiled by accusations of sexual harassment. An unidentified employee of the Mercer County prosecutor’s office has formally notified the county, through her lawyer, Robin Lord, that she intends to file suit and asked that evidence including claimed “breast of the…

May 1, 2015 1:19 PM CDT

Jury convicts rabbi, acquits son in kidnapping-conspiracy case related to religious divorces

Defense counsel said the facts of the situation had been exaggerated. But a federal jury on Tuesday convicted Rabbi Mendel Epstein, as well as two other rabbis, of kidnapping conspiracy related to the religious divorces they helped clients get from reluctant husbands. The two other rabbis, Binyamin Stimler and Jay…

Apr 22, 2015 8:50 AM CDT