A New Jersey offficial upheld the firing of a death investigator who leaked details of the crash that killed NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau in 2024, according to court documents.

A court filing shows a Gloucester County death investigator shared details of the Aug. 29, 2024 crash with a group chat. Someone in that chat later posted information about the Gaudreau brothers’ deaths — and a New Jersey State Police trooper’s cell phone number — on social media, prior to the information being released to the public.

The Gaudreau brothers — Johnny, a Columbus Blue Jackets winger, and Matthew, a Gloucester Catholic High School hockey coach — were riding bicycles on County Route 551 in Oldmans Township when a driver, Sean Higgins, allegedly struck them while under the influence. 

Defense attorneys have argued Higgins’ blood alcohol level was below the legal limit of .08 at the time of the crash, while prosecutors say he was intoxicated. The Gaudreaus were struck the night before their sister’s wedding.

The Gloucester County Medical Examiner’s office worker sent a picture of his notes to a text message group with members of his hockey team, after receiving news of the crash from a state trooper, documents filed with the New Jersey Civil Service Commission say. 

The worker said he took the photo because he was emotional and knew the victims, and that it would also serve as a way of informing the team he could not make it to their scheduled game that night. Someone from that group chat posted the photo on Twitter, the documents say. The post at some point made it to Reddit.

Overnight, multiple articles were written based on the social media post that originated from the group chat. The trooper whose phone number was visible in the picture received about a dozen phone calls from the media trying to confirm details of the crash, documents say.

The worker was accused of failing to safeguard confidential patient information, conduct unbecoming of a public employee and other offenses.

An administrative law judge recommended the worker be suspended for six months before the Civil Service Commission ruled to fire him. 

While the worker had no prior disciplinary record, the commission said that “some disciplinary actions are so serious that removal is appropriate notwithstanding a largely unblemished prior record … the [worker’s] offense … constituted a serious breach of the standard of conduct expected from all public employees who have access to confidential personal information.”

A new report showed how much more money Americans paid for energy in 2025 compared to the year before and New Jersey led the way with the largest increase.

All three states in the Philadelphia region showed increases in energy costs.

The report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee shows that residents in New Jersey paid about $260 more in utilities last year which is more than double the national average.

“Electricity increases are a big thing. Utility increases are a big thing,” Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. said. “It’s terrible and we have to put a stop to it.”

Pallone is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

He says he supports a price cap for energy transmission PJM is recommending to federal energy regulators.

PJM is a member-run company that operates the mid-Atlantic electrical grid for 65 million people in 13 states, including Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

“You need to adopt the price cap, because if you don’t, we’re going to see a continuation of these price increases,” Rep. Pallone said.

NJ Gov. Mikie Sherrill declared a state of emergency on utility costs during her inauguration in January. She signed two executive orders to combat what she described as an affordability crisis.

“What I’ve heard from people in Camden County, I heard across the state, and that is around issues of affordability. That too many people are working too hard and not getting ahead,” Gov. Sherrill said.

Residents in Pennsylvania paid a 12.1% increase while Delaware residents had a 6.1% spike in energy bills.