A landlord in Elizabeth, N.J. faces a 42-charge indictment for alleged intercourse crimes dedicated towards 30 of his tenants. Picture courtesy of the Union County Prosecutor’s Workplace.
Dec. 22 (UPI) — A New Jersey landlord in faces a 42-charge indictment for alleged intercourse crimes dedicated towards 30 of his tenants.
Joseph Centanni, 75, allegedly carried out felony intercourse acts between 2013 and 2020 within the metropolis of Elizabeth, in line with a press launch from the Union County Prosecutor’s Workplace.
He allegedly owns a whole lot of rental items scattered throughout 18 properties in Elizabeth, New Jersey’s fourth-most populated metropolis positioned throughout Newark Bay from New York Metropolis.
Centanni, of Mountainside, is alleged to have taken benefit of tenants who have been scuffling with hire or financially typically, going through eviction and individuals who have been homeless by soliciting “intercourse acts” from them in change for a spot to dwell.
Victims have been allegedly provided decreased hire, delayed eviction or normal monetary help.
“He additionally purportedly threatened tenants who hesitated or refused his advances with eviction or different retaliatory measures,” prosecutors mentioned within the press launch.
Victims assorted in age between 22 and 61 years outdated and have been female and male.
Prosecutors say Centanni owns a whole lot of items throughout 18 properties.
The owner faces 23 counts of second-degree sexual assault and 19 counts of fourth-degree felony sexual contact.
In accordance with the prosecutor, convictions for second-degree crimes are “generally punishable by phrases of 5 to 10 years in state jail on every rely,” whereas fourth-degree crimes are topic to 18 months in jail per rely.
Centanni was arrested in June 2021 and indicted final Thursday. In December 2021, he agreed to pay $4.5 million in damages and penalties for sexually harassing tenants and candidates for tenancy for greater than 15 years.
“The necessity for housing is a fundamental human want,” mentioned Appearing U.S. Lawyer Rachael A. Honig of the District of New Jersey.
“Joseph Centanni exploited that want, and the necessary federal applications that try to satisfy it, by threatening to disclaim his victims a roof over their heads if they didn’t undergo his calls for for sexual acts.”
He’s free on monitored launch, in line with NBC Information.
A dozen lottery players in New Jersey won $10,000 or more last week playing Powerball and New Jersey Lottery games.
The New Jersey Lottery announced its weekly winners on Monday. Here’s a look at where these tickets were sold from Nov. 18 to Nov. 24 as provided by the lottery agency:
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Ocean County was lucky last week, but not quite as lucky as Monmouth County. Both had big New Jersey Lottery winners.
A Winter Green ticket, sold at the Red Bank Mart in Red Bank, won $500,000 on Nov. 19. That was one of two winning tickets sold in Monmouth County. The other, a $10,000 Loaded ticket worth $10,000, was sold Nov. 22 at Shoprite in Shrewsbury.
There were also two winners in Ocean. A Powerball ticket hit for $150,000 after it was sold at HC Good Neighbor Pharmacy in Toms River on Nov. 18. The other, a $10,000 Loaded ticket, was sold at Country Farm in Whiting on Nov. 22.
Overall, there were 12 people who won at least $10,000.
On Nov. 18, a Candy Cane Cash player won $100,000 at the A&M Convenience in South Plainfield, Middlesex County. On the same day, a Crossword ticket worth $20,000, was sold at MPM Services Corp. in Jersey City.
On Nov. 19, a Plu$ The Money ticket, worth $200,000, was sold at Road Runner Convenience Store in Lyndhurst, Bergen County.
On Nov. 22, a 50X Cash Blitz ticket worth $500,000, was sold at Deli Works in Oak Ridge, Passaic County. The same day, a Crossword Bonanza worth $25,000 was sold at Speedy Mart in Florham Park, Morris County.
On Nov. 23, a Super Crossword ticket worth $50,000 was sold at Akar IV Auto in Newark. Another ticket worth $50,000, a Powerball slip, was sold at Stew Leonard’s in Paramus, Bergen County.
NORTH JERSEY — Ella the dog, a poodle-St. Bernard mix, is not an emotional support animal, says her owner, Beth Fitzgerald of Hoboken.
“She needs support,” Fitzgerald joked during a recent interview. She said Ella, who’s eight years old, has stomach problems and anxiety.
But this Thanksgiving, Fitzgerald, her husband, and her four adult children are thankful that Ella saved one of their lives.
Fitzgerald said that last May, she and her husband moved into an apartment in Maxwell Place in Hoboken. Three of her adult children also live in that city.
The family grew up in Montgomery, N.J., in Somerset County, but have since moved north.
In May, the family decided to travel to Boston for a ceremony for their oldest child’s graduation from graduate school.
Fitzgerald’s son Liam, 26, decided to stay behind for a day. He slept in his mom and dad’s relatively new rental in Maxwell Place that night and watched Ella, who was going to go to a sitter the next day.
But Ella started acting unusual that day.
At the same time, Liam was having headaches and didn’t feel well.
Since moving into Maxwell Place on May 1, Beth had smelled gas each day, but decided it was a slight smell and thought it disappeared when she got close to the oven. So she had dismissed it.
But when her son called and said he didn’t feel well — and Ella was acting unusual — she put it all together and knew the gas might be causing a problem.
Beth told Liam to immediately call the gas company, PSE&G, and not just the building supervisors. She also told her son to leave the apartment.
Luckily, PSE&G came and found the source of the leak. It was the oven after all. It’s since been replaced.
Fitzgerald said she’s been beating herself up a bit over leaving her son in an apartment with a gas leak. She said part of the reason she never called was that she didn’t want a big deal with fire trucks coming and the like. But she said she wanted people to learn from the incident.
“If you smell gas, don’t do what I did,” she said. “I keep thinking, what if it had been midnight [and Liam was asleep]? What if Ella didn’t act weird? Don’t hesitate. You call PSE&G immediately.”
She noted that chemicals are added to natural gas to give it an odor, so people can detect if there’s too much.
“If anything had happened to my son or my dog, I would have never been able to forgive myself,” she said.
Brian Clark, a vice president for PSE&G Gas Operations, said, “We’re so glad Beth took action and told her son to leave the house immediately and call PSE&G. She did exactly the right thing to ensure their safety, and the neighbors’ safety. If you ever smell gas, leave the area immediately.”
IF you have an emergency, you can call PSE&G at 1-800-880-PSEG (7734) or 911. You can learn more at PSEG.com/gassafety.
Meanwhile, Patch asked Ella herself for a comment on her heroic actions in May.
Ella looked away, licked her lips, then ran and hid behind her mommy.
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