What happened?

The following story is indicative of what happens when you cross the line. The victim was the wife of a former colleague that died as a result of a motorcycle accident in 1999. No doubt he is turning in his grave right now.

Four arrested in death of Green Brook woman found in burning car

By Carly Rothman/The Star-Ledger

December 14, 2009, 7:30PM

ELIZABETH -- Four men have been arrested in the 2008 slaying of a Green Brook woman whose body was found in a burning car in Elizabeth, authorities said today.

The year-long investigation of Tanya Worthy’s death ended this weekend with the arrests of Rashawn Bond, 33, of Newark, and Robert Harris, 25, of Philadelphia, who were already in custody on unrelated charges, authorities said. Bond was being held at the Essex County jail; Harris in Philadelphia.

Photos courtesy of the Union County Prosecutor's OfficeFour men have been arrested in the Oct. 2008 slaying of Tanya Worthy, a Green Brook woman found inside her burning car. The suspects, from left, are Sharif Torres, Jamal Lewis, Robert Harris and Rashawn Bond.Also charged were Sharif Torres, 21, who was arrested at his home in Philadelphia, and Jamel Lewis, 31, originally of Newark, who was arrested at his home in Alexandria, Va., authorities said.

Each suspect is charged with felony murder, kidnapping, robbery, gun charges and arson, Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said.

Worthy, a 35-year-old business owner and recruiter for DeVry University, was found Oct. 29, 2008, in her white BMW 645 convertible. The vehicle was ablaze on Neck Lane near Newark Liberty International Airport.

Romankow said Worthy, the widow of a New Jersey state trooper, was living with her fiance, Rahim Jackson, but was also in a relationship with Bond at the time of the attack.

Around 5:15 the night she died, Worthy ordered take-out from a Newark restaurant. Some time later, investigators believe she was kidnapped and taken to her Green Brook home.

Romankow said that between $50,000 and $150,000 – known to be proceeds of criminal activity – was in Worthy’s home.

Jackson is serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison in Brooklyn for drug charges, said Special Agent Douglas Collier, a spokesman for the New Jersey division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

"We’re not accusing her of anything. She was a victim," Romankow said. "They were going to rob her, plain and simple, but it went bad."

Jackson emerged from Worthy’s home when the group arrived, but the men threatened him and he went back inside, Romankow said. The alleged kidnappers then left with Worthy, he said.

A short time later, Worthy was killed in Elizabeth, her body left to burn in the white convertible. Police found the car shortly before 11 p.m.

The investigation spanned three states and involved more than 80 interviews. It was conducted by the Union County Homicide Task Force.

"There were detectives who worked almost full time on this case for almost a year," Romankow said. "This case could not have been completed if we did not have the Task Force."

Investigators had support from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Philadelphia Police Department, and help from the Green Brook Police Department and Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Bond, Harris and Torres are being held on $1.5 million bail while bail for Lewis was set at $2 million, Romankow said.

Should we treat our kids like adults?

Perhaps the biggest flaw in the judicial system is that law school cannot teach its students to differentiate between the vile and the victims. The case of Sarah Kruzan appears to be yet another one of those instances where rehabilitation is just a fancy word for “good riddance.”

Growing up with a drug addicted mother in California, Sarah Kruzan had the classic nightmarish childhood: abuse, rape, neglect — the usual suspects. Unsurprisingly, she trusted to a creep who claimed to have her best interests in mind, but eventually she killed him at the age of 16 years old. With the judge subsequently throwing the book at her like she had been around long enough to read it.

Why didn’t her back story come into play when evaluating her sentence? Why does the system pretend to hold certain individuals’ life in such high regard when they’re the plantiff when it’s the complete opposite as the defendant? And why couldn’t they see that they were committing a bigger homicide than what Ms. Kruzan admitted to?

Questions need answered before the problems are resolved.

For more information on the juvenile justice system, visit the National Center for Youth Law.

From: smokingsection.uproxx.com

Perhaps the biggest flaw in the judicial system is that law school cannot teach its students to differentiate between the vile and the victims. The case of Sarah Kruzan appears to be yet another one of those instances where rehabilitation is just a fancy word for “good riddance.”

Growing up with a drug addicted mother in California, Sarah Kruzan had the classic nightmarish childhood: abuse, rape, neglect — the usual suspects. Unsurprisingly, she trusted to a creep who claimed to have her best interests in mind, but eventually she killed him at the age of 16 years old. With the judge subsequently throwing the book at her like she had been around long enough to read it.

Why didn’t her back story come into play when evaluating her sentence? Why does the system pretend to hold certain individuals’ life in such high regard when they’re the plantiff when it’s the complete opposite as the defendant? And why couldn’t they see that they were committing a bigger homicide than what Ms. Kruzan admitted to?

For more information on the juvenile justice system, visit the National Center for Youth Law.

http://media.causes.com/595178?p_id=85516748

A changing of the guard.

NJ trooper accuses fellow trooper of rape

AP

Last Updated: 6:27 PM, December 4, 2009

Posted: 1:25 PM, December 4, 2009

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey state trooper has accused a superior officer of raping and impregnating her and says she was subject to other sexual harassment and retaliation for reporting it during her four years with the agency.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Camden, Alexis Hayes, 29, says the State Police failed to take action against “repeated acts of sexual misconduct” by her superiors dating back to 2005, when she was a police academy recruit.

Hayes, who agreed to be identified by The Associated Press, has been on paid sick leave since August due to a “complete emotional breakdown,” said her attorney, William Buckman.

In her lawsuit, Hayes claims she was raped in April while on assignment near Pittsburgh as part of a 49-member State Police detail sent to honor three city police officers killed in a shootout.

According to Hayes, her boss, Lt. Thomas King, 50, got her drunk, waited for her to pass out then somehow obtained a copy of her hotel room key and assaulted her in her room.

Her attorney said Hayes, who is married, became pregnant as a result and knew the baby was King’s because she only had protected sex with her husband. She later had an abortion.

The State Police declined to comment specifically on the case, citing their policy of not discussing ongoing internal investigations. However, they did acknowledge that they were looking into the accusations and that King and Hayes are both on paid administrative leave.

“The New Jersey State Police treats any allegation of misconduct very seriously. As with all allegations of misconduct, these allegations will be vigorously and thoroughly investigated,” said Capt. Gerald Lewis, a State Police spokesman.

King was placed leave Nov. 7.

State Police declined to make anyone named in the lawsuit available for comment or say whether King had an attorney.

A message left with a man who answered the phone at King’s house was not returned.

Buckman said Hayes did not initially report the alleged rape to authorities because she had a breakdown but that when a lieutenant colonel found out about it, he told her “that she had to bear up with the imperfect conditions of the New Jersey State Police and go about her duties.”

“Her father was so outraged that he filed a complaint with the New Jersey State Police, who did nothing about it,” Buckman said. “We then passed it on to the Pittsburgh authorities.”

Allegheny County Police spokesman Lt. Jeffrey Korczyk confirmed that there was an open investigation into Hayes’ allegations but declined to elaborate.

Buckman said neither Pennsylvania police nor New Jersey state police have interviewed Hayes about the rape allegation. He said she has not been available to talk about it due to her fragile emotional state and on the advice of her psychiatrist.

In her lawsuit, Hayes claims that the alleged sexual assault was not the first time she was harassed while working for the State Police.

She claims she also was sexually harassed by a female State Police academy instructor and was subjected to a hostile work environment after complaining about it.

The suit contends that at the academy, Sgt. Christine Shalcross once grabbed Hayes’s necktie so hard that the clasp broke off. She said Shalcross also demeaned her by calling her “peanut” and drawing on her face with a black permanent marker. After graduation, Hayes said Shalcross, 43, whispered in Hayes’ ear and kissed her on the cheek.

Shalcross, a 14-year veteran, was later assigned to the Internal Affairs Bureau.

“They seem to take people with problems and park them in Internal Affairs,” Buckman said.

A woman who answered the phone at Shalcross’s home said she wouldn’t be commenting on the case.

The lawsuit requests a jury trial and that an independent monitor be appointed to oversee the State Police’s internal affairs unit.

In the In the meantime, Buckman said Hayes has been left in the dark about the status of her case.

“They have given no clues as to what is being done to protect her or give her normal victim’s status,” he said.

Corruption and New Jersey; perfect together

The history of corruption in the State of New Jersey does not have a shelf life. It is a shame that we continue to have this conversation. Hopefully, the Governor elect, Christopher Christie can change this sad state of affairs. I am willing to give him some time, but I do not think much is going to change. The following links will explain some of what I am talking about.


http://cultureofcorruption.com/NJ_State_Police.html

http://www.inmateabuse.tv/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26

Does it start from the top? I told you this went on.

N.J. State trooper accuses superior officer of sexually assaulting, impregnating her

By Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau

December 02, 2009, 6:53PM

TRENTON -- A New Jersey state trooper has filed a federal civil lawsuit saying she was sexually assaulted and impregnated by a superior officer.

Trooper Alexis Hayes accused Lt. Thomas King, a 26-year veteran, of getting her drunk, obtaining a key to her hotel room, assaulting her and leaving her pregnant while they were on assignment in April with other troopers in Pittsburgh.

Read a copy of the lawsuit

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Camden, alleges "repeated acts of sexual misconduct" that started four years ago, when Hayes was an academy recruit.

None of the charges was properly examined during internal investigations, according to the lawsuit. At one point, a lieutenant colonel allegedly told Hayes, 29, to "bear up with the imperfect conditions" and "go about her duties."

In a statement, State Police spokesman Capt. Gerald Lewis said the division "treats any allegation of misconduct very seriously. As with all allegations of misconduct, these allegations will be vigorously and thoroughly investigated."

Lewis said King is on administrative leave with pay.

Hayes has been on paid sick leave since August after suffering a nervous breakdown, said her lawyer, William Buckman.

The seven-count lawsuit asks for a trial by jury and an independent monitor to oversee the State Police’s internal affairs unit.

"Its internal affairs mechanisms are not impartial and not up to the task to objectively look at the problems," Buckman said. "There’s still some very disturbing cultural aspects."

The attorney, who has filed numerous discrimination lawsuits against the State Police in the last decade, said young, female troopers like Hayes remain vulnerable and victimized within the agency.

"The apparent prevalence of sexual harassment in the organization has not abated," he said. "Hayes happens to just be one of the people who came forward because she couldn’t hold it in anymore."

Hayes graduated from the State Police academy in 2005. During her time there, she allegedly was harassed by Sgt. Christine Shallcross, an instructor and a 14-year veteran, according to the lawsuit.

Shallcross, 43, demeaned Hayes as a "peanut," drew on her face with a black permanent marker and "stabbed" another female trooper with the marker, "leaving a bruise," according to the lawsuit.

After Hayes graduated, Shallcross, allegedly made advances by whispering in her ear and kissing her on the cheek, the suit contends. Hayes’ lawsuit also says that despite being reported for disciplinary action, Shallcross was transferred into the internal affairs division.

"That speaks to an internal affairs operation that doesn’t really seem to want to screen people to make sure they’re objective," Buckman said.

Hayes eventually joined a tactical patrol unit that handles traffic enforcement. According to the lawsuit, King, then an acting captain and Hayes’ superior officer, "bombarded" her with messages and unannounced visits to her home.

In April, Hayes joined a 49-member detail sent to Pittsburgh to honor three city police officers killed in a shootout. One night during the trip, King, 49, ensured Hayes was drunk, then entered her hotel room and assaulted her, according to the lawsuit.

Buckman said there is a criminal investigation into the alleged sexual assault by Pennsylvania law enforcement. Officials from the Allegheny County Police Department could not be reached for comment.

Hayes became pregnant but had an abortion, according to the lawsuit. Despite her moral opposition to the practice, "she could not bear the thought of having a child by King," the lawsuit reads. Buckman said Hayes knows the child was King’s because she was having only protected sex with her husband.

On two other occasions after the alleged sexual assault, King made sexual advances on Hayes, despite her pleas for him to leave her alone, according to the lawsuit.

When Hayes discussed her trauma with the State Police’s employee-assistance program, an official in that program breached confidentiality by telling a lieutenant colonel about her allegations, according to the lawsuit.

The unnamed lieutenant colonel -- the division’s second-highest rank -- allegedly told her to "bear up."

In addition to seeking a trial, Hayes’ suit asks for compensatory damages and for King and Shallcross to be barred from law enforcement.

Lewis, the State Police spokesman, said he didn’t know if King and the other troopers named in the lawsuit are facing internal charges.

Update: Lewis said in an e-mail that the State Police takes all internal investigations seriously. Also, King has been placed on paid administrative absences. Shalcross is still assigned to the Office of Professional Standards.

Only in America.

The recent Presidential party crashing, by two unknown subjects, proves to me that race has a lot to do with who is accepted and who is not. The news media reported that a white male and white female sashayed into the WHITE HOUSE without an invitation and clearance by the United States Secret Service (USSS). How could that have happened? Well, they were white and appeared like they belonged. They were given access to the President and many high profile politicians. They hobnobbed and took pictures. Would this have happened if the subjects were black or brown? HELL NO. I am appalled that the two of them were not arrested and charged with trespassing. This just goes to show you that if you do not appear to be a threat, the USSS will give you card blanche to the first African-American President. This would have been a historical event if they would have done harm to Mr. Obama. Some heads should role and people should either get fired or reassigned to protecting a garbage can in Bismarck, North Dakota. Only in America.

I told you it wasn't me.

Here we go again, the criminal justice system and the NYPD gets it wrong. How many innocent people will have to spend years and decades in jail before something is done? This is not the first and will not be the last time that this type of injustice will be perpetuated against United States citizens. So what I am talking about? In 1991, a Hispanic man was charged with murder based on the eyewitness testimony of a convicted felon. No, there was no DNA evidence, no corroborating evidence; just a flawed criminal justice system. I am not saying that the defendant, Mr. Fernandez Bermudez, was a good guy. He was convicted of a drug felony and has not served his felony time, but after what he has gone through, I think the criminal injustice system should give him a pass on this one. What do you think? Read the article for your own edification.

NEW YORK — A judge Thursday threw out a murder case against a man imprisoned for nearly two decades and declared he was innocent, saying a key witness lied and others influenced one other into identifying him as the shooter.

Fernando Bermudez cried and hugged one of his lawyers as the judge took the unusual step of not only overturning his 1992 conviction but dismissing the charges, rather than calling for a retrial.

Bermudez "has demonstrated his actual innocence," state Supreme Court Justice John Cataldo said. "This court wishes to express its profound regret over the past 18 years. I hope for you a better future."

With his parents, wife and other relatives sobbing and applauding in the courtroom, Bermudez was led away after the ruling. The 40-year-old remains behind bars for now because of an unrelated federal drug-sale conviction that carried a 27-month sentence. His lawyers plan to ask federal authorities to credit him for the time he has served and release him.

"This is too long, but justice is ours today," his tearful wife, Crystal, said outside court. "He's a good man. He didn't deserve to have this happen to him."

The ruling bars a retrial, and the Manhattan District Attorney's office had said it wouldn't pursue one because eyewitnesses have recanted and would no longer testify. But prosecutors said they still believe Bermudez is guilty and were examining their options, including a potential appeal.

"We strongly disagree with the judge's decision," Chief Assistant District Attorney Mark Dwyer said. "We don't think the defense has shown that there was anything wrong with the verdict."

The Aug. 4, 1991, shooting killed 16-year-old Raymond Blount. He was gunned down as he left a nightspot near Manhattan's Union Square after getting into a fight with another teen inside the club.

The other teen identified Bermudez as the gunman, and four bystander eyewitnesses identified him from police photograph files and then a lineup.

Four of Bermudez' friends testified that he was with them, miles away, at the time of the crime; friends of Blount's also said Bermudez wasn't the shooter, according to the judge's ruling. No forensic evidence linked him to the crime.

Bermudez' lawyers presented evidence that the eyewitnesses had improperly consulted among themselves before picking him from police photos, instead of identifying him separately. They have subsequently recanted.

Prosecutors say Bermudez' defense team threatened or induced them to change their stories, but the judge found "no improper conduct."

The teen involved in the fight – who testified against Bermudez under an agreement sparing him criminal charges – delivered "a total fabrication" on the witness stand, Cataldo wrote. He said a roster of evidence actually pointed to one of the teen's friends, who has denied involvement.

"You combine the cooperating witness who lied with the eyewitnesses who conferred with one another, and you have an innocent man in jail for 18 years," said one of Bermudez' lawyers, Barry J. Pollack.

While serving a sentence of 23 years to life, Bermudez has completed most of a college degree, his family said. He and his wife have three children.

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