Connect with us

New Jersey

New Jersey judge made racy lip-synching TikTok videos in his chambers: complaint

Published

on

New Jersey judge made racy lip-synching TikTok videos in his chambers: complaint


A Harvard-educated New Jersey criminal court judge is accused of recording “inappropriate” lip-synching TikTok videos in his chambers at the Bergen County courthouse, and also semi-nude in bed, according to a bombshell complaint.

Posting on TikTok under the pseudonym “Sal Tortorella,” Bergen County Superior Court Judge Gary Wilcox, 58, allegedly put out 40 public TikTok videos between April 2021 and March 2023, including some containing profanity-laced lyrics, references to violence, sex, and misogyny.

The 5-page complaint, filed last Friday by the disciplinary counsel for the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, highlights 11 videos allegedly created by Wilcox, which were found to be problematic either because of their content, the location of filming, including in the judge’s chambers, in the courthouse, and in a bed, or Wilcox’s attire — “wearing his judicial robes and/or partially dressed while lying in bed.”

According to the filing, some of the videos recorded in Wilcox’s chambers are littered with graphic sexual references to female and male body parts, as well as racist language.

Advertisement
Bergen County Superior Court Judge Gary Wilcox, 58, has been hit with a complaint accusing him of posting inappropriate lip-synching videos on TikTok for two years.
Anne-Marie Caruso/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

In one such video, Wilcox apparently lip-synchs lyrics from Rihanna’s song “Jump,” including the lines: “If you want it let’s do it. Ride it, my pony. My saddle is waitin’, come and jump on it. If you want it, let’s do it.”

In a second video, the judge, dressed in a suit and tie and posing in front of law books, lip-synchs the following text: “All my life, I’ve been waiting for somebody to whoop my ass. I mean business! You think you can run up on me and whip my monkey ass? Come on. Come on!”

A third video shows the 58-year-old Wilcox holding cash and pretending to light a match while lip-synching Miguel’s hit “Sure Thing,” which contains the lines: “If you be the cash, I’ll be the rubber band. You be the match, I will be a fuse, boom. Painter, baby, you could be the muse. I’m the reporter, baby, you could be the news. ‘Cause you’re the cigarette, and I’m the smoker. We raise a bet, ’cause you’re the joker.”

Wilcox’s social media page, which has since been deleted, also allegedly contained a recording of the jurist wearing a “Beavis and Butt-Head” T-shirt while walking through the courthouse to the tune of Nas’ single “Get Down.”

The complaint states that the song contains “explicit lyrics concerning a criminal case and a courtroom shooting as well as derogatory and discriminatory terms, drug and gang references, and the killing of a doctor in a hospital who treated another gang member.”

Advertisement

In another video, the judge smiles at the camera with text superimposed on the screen that reads: “When an ex-girlfriend calls you “Santa” because of your new white beard.” In the background, the song “Touch” by Busta Rhymes is playing, including the lyrics: “For the record, just a second, I’m freakin’ it out. While she tryin’ to touch, see, I was peepin’ it out. She turned around and was tryin’ to put my d**k in her mouth. I let her.”

During his stint as a TikTok creator, Judge Wilcox also allegedly put out a video of himself wearing a “Freedom of Speech” T-shirt while lip-synching the lines:  “Go ahead baby. You hittin’ them corners too god damn fast. You gotta slow this motha****a down. You understand? I almost spilled my [Cognac] on this $200 suit.”

Wilcox graduated from the highly prestigious Harvard Law School and began practicing law in 1989.

After serving as a federal prosecutor, Wilcox was appointed to the bench as a family court judge in 2011 by then-Gov. Chris Christie.


A part of the Bergen County Justice Center in Hackensack, N.J.
The complaint alleges that some of the objectionable videos were recorded in Wilcox’s chambers at the courthouse.
AP

In 2016, he was reassigned to adult criminal court and received tenure in 2018.

The complaint argues that by posting racy public videos to TikTok, Wilcox “exhibited poor judgment and demonstrated disrespect for the Judiciary and an inability to conform to the high standards of conduct expected of judges.”

Advertisement

Wilcox is now being investigated for violating three cannons of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which require judges to observe high standards of conduct, avoid the appearance of impropriety, and conduct their “extrajudicial activities in a manner that would not cast reasonable doubt on the judge’s capacity to act impartially as a judge.”

Wilcox has 20 days to submit a written formal answer to the complaint, reported NorthJersey.com.

After receiving the answer, the Advisory Committee will schedule a formal hearing. If the panel finds that Wilcox violated the Code of Judicial Conduct, he could face disciplinary actions ranging from a public reprimand to removal from the bench.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

New Jersey

Game #2 Preview: New Jersey Devils vs Buffalo Sabres

Published

on

Game #2 Preview: New Jersey Devils vs Buffalo Sabres


The Essentials:

Matchup: The New Jersey Devils vs. Buffalo Sabres

Date: October 5, 2024

Time: 10:00 AM ET

Advertisement

Broadcast: NHLN, MSGSN, MSG-B

Listen: Devils Hockey Network

Last Devils Game: On October 4, 2024, the Devils defeated the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 4-1. See Jackson’s recap here.

The Lineups:

It is no secret that these rosters are basically locked for this trip to Prague. I expect the Devils and Sabres to maintain the same lineups as Friday’s game except for the goalies. Jake Allen will likely be the starter for the Devils and Devon Levi for the Sabres. Both head coaches will want to give their teams time to shake off any remaining rust and reestablish chemistry before addressing any potential issues. See Buffalo’s lines from Friday’s game below:

Advertisement

Offense

Peterka-Thompson-Tuch

Benson-Cozens-Quinn

Greenway-McLeod-Zucker

Malenstyn-Lafferty-NAK

Advertisement

Defense

Dahlin-Jokiharju

Byram-Power

Samuelsson-Clifton

(per Lance Lysowski and Natural Stat Trick)

Advertisement

Matchup to Watch:

Tage Thompson was the Sabres’ leading scorer in 2023-2024, but the top line struggled in game one. The Sabres’ line of JJ Peterka, Tage Thompson, and Alex Tuch posted a Corsi For Percentage Relative (CF% Rel) of -18.23 (per Natural Stat Trick at 5-on-5). I’m not a big stats or analytics guy, but that is not good. Not surprisingly, the Devils played their top defensive pairing of Dougie Hamilton and Brenden Dillon against the Sabres’ top line for most of the game. It is nice to have a healthy Dougie Hamilton back! Both defensively, matching up with a big guy like Thompson, and offensively by getting shots on net through traffic. Will the Hamilton – Dillon duo have the same success in game two?

Devil to Watch

Head coach Sheldon Keefe showed a lot of confidence in Seamus Casey in his regular season debut. Casey was given the opportunity to quarterback the second power play unit in the final seconds of the first power play. I’d like to see the rookie get the same opportunity on Saturday. I thought he played well at both ends of the ice on Friday and can’t wait to see what he can do once he feels comfortable at the NHL level.

Advertisement

Seamus Casey skates on the ice against the Buffalo Sabres.
Photo by Ben Ludeman/NHLI via Getty Images

Advertisement

Adjustment for Game Two

The issue I have chosen is minor and it may just be me, but the holding penalties drive me crazy. The Devils had three holding penalties and a “slashing” call on Erik Haula. That was not a slash, but that is a separate conversation. There is no reason to take a hand off the stick to grab at an opposing player. I have flashbacks of my youth hockey coach yelling to move your feet instead of reaching or grabbing. As I said, it is minor and the penalty kill played well, but I hope they eliminate the holding penalties moving forward.

The Devils had everything go their way on Friday and let’s hope that continues.

Your Thoughts

What will you be watching for? Will Hamilton and Dillon get the best of the matchup against Thompson’s line again? What did you think of Casey’s play in game one? Thank you for reading and GO DEVILS!

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

New Jersey

Retired New Jersey State Police trooper who stormed Capitol is sentenced to probation

Published

on

Retired New Jersey State Police trooper who stormed Capitol is sentenced to probation


WASHINGTON — A retired New Jersey State Police trooper who stormed the U.S. Capitol with a mob of Donald Trump supporters was sentenced to probation instead of prison on Friday, as the federal courts reached a milestone in the punishment of Capitol rioters.

Videos captured Michael Daniele, 61, yelling and flashing a middle finger near police officers guarding the Capitol before he entered the building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Daniele expressed his regret for his role in the attack before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced him to two years of probation, including 30 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring, and ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine. Prosecutors had recommended an 11-month prison sentence for Daniele.

“My family has been through hell,” Daniele said before learning his sentence. “I would never do anything like this again.”

Advertisement

The number of sentencings for Capitol riot cases topped the 1,000 mark on Friday, according to an Associated Press review of court records that began more than three years ago.

More than 1,500 people have been charged with Jan. 6-related federal crimes. At least 647 of them have been convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years. Over 200 have been sentenced to some form of home confinement.

In June, Mehta convicted Daniele of misdemeanor charges after a trial without a jury. But the judge acquitted him of two felony counts of interfering with police during a civil disorder.

Daniele served as a New Jersey State Police trooper for 26 years.

“I cannot be possible that you thought it was OK to be inside the United States Capitol on January 6th,” the judge said.

Advertisement

Daniele wasn’t accused of physically assaulting any police officers or causing any damage at the Capitol that day.

“You’re not criminally responsible for that, but you do bear some moral obligation for it,” the judge said.

A prosecutor said Daniele “should have known better” given his law-enforcement training and experience.

“By being there, he lent his strength to a violent mob,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Jackson said.

Daniele traveled from Holmdel, N.J., to Washington, D.C., to attend then-President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6, when Congress convened a joint session to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.

Advertisement

Before Trump finished speaking, Daniele marched to the Capitol and joined hundreds of other rioters at the Peace Circle, where the mob breached barricades and forced police to retreat. Daniele entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing doors and walked through the Crypt. He spent roughly six minutes inside the building.

When the FBI interviewed him, Daniele referred to the Jan. 6 attack as a “set up” and suggested that other rioters “looked like cops,” according to prosecutors.

“He also blamed the violence of January 6 on the police — despite serving decades with law enforcement himself — accusing the police officers facing an unprecedented attack by a crowd of thousands of not following proper riot control practices,” prosecutors wrote.

Defense attorney Stuart Kaplan said incarcerating Daniele would be a waste of taxpayer dollars.

“He made poor choices and a bad decision,” the lawyer said. “I think he’s got more credits than debits.”

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

New Jersey

Sonnet BioTherapeutics to Receive Non-Dilutive Funding Through New Jersey Tax Certificate Transfer and Australia R&D Tax Incentive Programs

Published

on

Sonnet BioTherapeutics to Receive Non-Dilutive Funding Through New Jersey Tax Certificate Transfer and Australia R&D Tax Incentive Programs


Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc.

Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc.

PRINCETON, NJ, Oct. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc. (the “Company” or “Sonnet”) (NASDAQ: SONN), a clinical-stage company developing targeted immunotherapeutic drugs, today announced it has received preliminary approval for a tax credit from the New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA). Sonnet received approval of its application to sell up to $8,143,144 of its New Jersey State net operating losses (NOLs) and $62,810 of its New Jersey State research and development (R&D) tax credits for proceeds of up to $0.795 million through the New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program, subject to execution of such sale. Sonnet also expects to receive a $0.7 million net cash refund from the R&D Tax Incentive Program in Australia.

Pankaj Mohan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sonnet commented, “We are grateful for NJEDA’s continued support of the biotechnology industry and to be one of the recipients to benefit from the New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program. With the addition of the net cash refund from the Australian R&D Tax Incentive Program, this will provide Sonnet with non-dilutive capital to continue to direct our resources towards advancing our pipeline of targeted immunotherapeutic drugs.”

The Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program administered by the NJEDA enables qualified companies to sell up to $20 million of their unused New Jersey NOLs and R&D tax credits to unaffiliated, profit-generating corporate taxpayers in the State of New Jersey. The Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program is designed to allow technology and biotechnology companies with NOLs to turn their tax losses and credits into cash proceeds to fund more R&D, expand its workforce and cover other allowable expenditures. Sonnet is one of several biotechnology/technology companies to qualify in this competitive process to share in the funding this year.

The Australian R&D Tax Incentive Program allows certain companies to claim a significant percentage of their costs related to R&D activities they have or are planning to undertake in Australia.

Advertisement

The Company expects to receive the Australian net cash refund before calendar year end 2024 and the proceeds from the sale of its New Jersey NOLs and R&D tax credits before the end of the first calendar quarter of 2025, subject to execution of such sale.

About Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc.

Sonnet is an oncology-focused biotechnology company with a proprietary platform for innovating biologic drugs of single or bifunctional action. Known as FHAB (Fully Human Albumin Binding), the technology utilizes a fully human single chain antibody fragment (scFv) that binds to and “hitch-hikes” on human serum albumin (HSA) for transport to target tissues. Sonnet’s FHAB was designed to specifically target tumor and lymphatic tissue, with an improved therapeutic window for optimizing the safety and efficacy of immune modulating biologic drugs. FHAB is the foundation of a modular, plug-and-play construct for potentiating a range of large molecule therapeutic classes, including cytokines, peptides, antibodies, and vaccines.

Forward-Looking Statements

Advertisement

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended, including those relating to the proceeds from the Company’s New Jersey State NOLs and R&D tax credits, the Company’s Australia net cash refund, the outcome of the Company’s clinical trials, the Company’s cash runway, the Company’s product development, clinical and regulatory timelines, market opportunity, competitive position, possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, potential growth opportunities and other statements that are predictive in nature. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which we operate and management’s current beliefs and assumptions.

These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking expressions, including, but not limited to, “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “estimate,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These statements relate to future events or our financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include those set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:
JTC Team, LLC
Jenene Thomas
908.824.0775
SONN@jtcir.com



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending