Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Administrator John Bonnani notified Robert Bianchi of the policy change this week, report says.
Morris County Administrator John Bonnani notified former Prosecutor Robert Bianchi this week he no longer will receive a county paycheck, according to the Daily Record. Bonnani told the newspaper the Attorney General's office advised in an email on Friday that Bianchi, a resident of Morris Plains, was not necessarily entitled to pay even though his successor has not yet been approved by the New Jersey Senate, contrary to the county's initial interpretation of the law. Bianchi was earning around $3,100 a week, the newspaper reported. Bianchi was on the payroll for about a month after the Attorney General's office took over the Morris County Prosecutor's Office on Dec. 14 at Gov. Chris Christie's request. The "supersession" effectively …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Complaint claims law that allowed Attorney General to take over Morris County Prosecutor's Office at Gov. Chris Christie's request is unconstitutional.
Former Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi is suing to try to have the courts overturn a law that allowed the Attorney General to take over the Morris County Prosecutor's Office on Friday at Gov. Chris Christie's request, according to The Star-Ledger. Bianchi's father filed the lawsuit Monday on his son's behalf, claiming the law that allowed the Attorney General's Office "supersession" on Friday is unconstitutional because it conflicts with another state law that says a governor can only remove a county prosecutor after showing cause and holding a public hearing, the report says. Christie said in a news conference Friday uncertainty about the status of the position hurts office morale, according to reports. Christie requested the move…
Friday, December 14, 2012
Fredric Knapp, Christie's nominee to replace Robert Bianchi, sworn in as acting county prosecutor.
The state Attorney General's Office took over for the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Friday morning, removing Robert Bianchi as the county's top lawman at the request of the governor. Gov. Chris Christie requested the move in order "to promote an orderly and speedy transition to Prosecutor (Robert) Bianchi's successor, and to ensure uniform and efficient criminal law enforcement in Morris County," an Attorney General's Office spokesman said. Fredric Knapp, a Florham Park attorney who had been nominated by Christie in June to be the next county prosecutor, but never was considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, was sworn in as acting county prosecutor on Friday. Democratic State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, a Bianchi supporter and member of…
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Officials seized $250K worth of drugs from warehouse in April. The two individuals charged with intent to distribute the marijuana will be sentenced in Morris County Court.
Two people charged with possession of and intent to distribute a large quantity of marijuana in April are set to be sentenced in Morris County Court Friday. Emily W. Holt, 21, of Rumson, and Zachary Ayers, 23, of Montague, will appear before Judge Thomas V. Manahan Friday morning. Holt and Ayers were arrested following a joint investigation of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, Montville Township Police Department, United States Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey State Police and the Morris County Sheriff's Office into an alleged drug shipment operation where large quantities of marijuana were being sent to a Pine Brook warehouse. In April, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said the marijuana was being sent from an …
Monday, December 10, 2012
Robert Bianchi is handling the prosecution of Vanessa Brown, charged with killing Ralph Politi Jr. in alleged DWI crash in May.
The Morris County prosecutor has announced he is assuming the prosecution of another high-profile case, even though his five-year term was up in June. Vanessa Brown, a Parsippany resident charged with manslaughter for allegedly killing an elected Board of Education official from East Hanover in a DWI crash in May, will be prosecuted by Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi himself, according to a report by The Star-Ledger. Bianchi told a judge Monday he is assuming the prosecution of the case after the assistant prosecutor who had been handling the case left for a job with a private firm. According to the report, Bianchi told the judge he has managed the prosecution from the start, has been in touch with the family of Ralph Politi Jr., …
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Gov. Chris Christie 'continues to fully support' Fredric Knapp and wants there to be a fair hearing, his deputy press secretary says.
The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet next Thursday, but Gov. Chris Christie's nominee for the next Morris County prosecutor is nowhere on the agenda. Fredric Knapp, a Randolph resident and founding member of the law firm Knapp, Trimboli & Prusinowski in Florham Park, was nominated in June for the position, but the Senate Judiciary Committee has not yet considered the nomination. "Since the Governor filed his nomination, it continues to languish in the Senate," Sean Conner, Christie's deputy press secretary, said in an email this week. "The Governor continues to fully support Mr. Knapp and hopes he will receive a fair, open hearing and an up or down vote." Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas Scutari would …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Judiciary committee has not yet ruled on governor's nomination, Florham Park attorney Fredric Knapp, to replace Robert Bianchi.
Even though Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi's term technically ended more than five months ago, he is prepared to personally handle the prosecution of a man charged with vehicular homicide for allegedly crashing while intoxicated into a Mount Arlington police cruiser on Interstate 80 last October and killing Joseph Wargo, the officer inside. Referring to the fact his five-year appointment officially ended June 22, Bianchi told a judge Monday his status as prosecutor is "tenuous" and he will work to have a contingency plan for if he is replaced near the time of the defendant, Michael Cassella's, trial, according to reports by the Daily Record and The Star-Ledger. Bianchi's involvement in the case comes amid the departure of an …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Body was found in car trunk in wooded area in Lincoln Park last year.
The Fairview man accused of assisting after a killing in which a man was beaten to death with a hammer, his body left in a car trunk in Lincoln Park last year, has pleaded not guilty. According to the Daily Record, Oscar Benedicto-Aleman appeared in court Monday on charges relating to the August 2011 death of 27-year-old Esteban Hernandez-Vazquez, of North Bergen. Morris County prosecutors believe Benedicto-Aleman helped Carlos Rojas, also of North Bergen, bring the body to Lincoln Park after Rojas allegedly murdered him. Rojas is scheduled for arraignment on murder charges in December. Authorities from the Morris County Prosecutor's Office sought the public's help in identifying the body of Hernandez-Vazquez, which was found off of …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Public invited to comment as part NJSACOP's assessment.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Residents of Morris County will be able to comment as part of the assessment when the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police will examine the Morris County Prosecutor's Office for accreditation. The NJSACOP will be arriving on Dec. 9 for an on-site assessment of all aspects of the office's policies, procedures, management, operations and support services, according to Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi. As part of the assessment, office employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments on Dec. 10, between 1 and 11 a.m, according to Bianchi. Residents can call 973-285-6272 to comment. Comments are limited to five minutes and must address the office's ability to comply with the NJSACOP standards, Bianchi …
Friday, October 26, 2012
Reputed James Bond Gang members caught after alleged Connecticut burglary, Morris County incidents still under investigation, prosecutor says.
A team of investigators arrested five members of a burglary crew suspected of targeting high-end homes across North Jersey, including in Morris and Somerset counties, just as the thieves were trying to crack open a stolen safe at a Bergen County garage late Thursday, authorities said. Five Englewood men were charged after investigators learned they had burglarized a home in a wealthy section of Greenwich, Conn., the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday. Items taken from the home, including the safe, were seized in the bust, along with burglary tools. Several of the men have lengthy criminal histories, some with links to the James Bond Gang, a high-end burglary syndicate rooted in Teaneck and Englewood. "I have taken the …
The Stig
7:02 pm on Friday, February 8, 2013
Bianchi finally throws in the towel - http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2013/02/bianchi_formally_resigns_as_pr.html#incart_river_default Now will the Dems in the legislature finally do the right thing and give the man a proper and fair hearing? Doubtful. more ›