MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ — The borough appears set to change Lt. Joseph Giannuzzi’s title to “police chief” from “officer in charge” more than a year after he was given command of the department amid a sexual harassment suit and scandal that saw the resignation or suspension of three officers. Council President and Police Committee Chairman Keith […]
UNION COUNTY, NJ — Officials have launched a new program — Helping Hands 365 — that features a 24/7 hotline connecting addicts with peers who have achieved sobriety in an effort to reduce opioid-related overdoses in the county. More than 130 county residents died of such overdoses in 2018. Prevention Links, a local nonprofit organization […]
MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ — The Union County Prosecutor’s Office has found no proof that the borough’s former police chief pointed a gun at other officers — a claim contained in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the municipality in May. According to the letter dated Nov. 1 and signed by Acting Prosecutor Michael Monahan, the UCPO […]
MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ — A Westfield-based lawyer clashed with Mayor Paul Mirabelli and borough attorney John Post at the Oct. 16 council meeting during a 15-minute exchange about the lawsuit filed by five police officers and a former dispatcher against the borough in May. Josh McMahon, an attorney with a Westfield office, asked the four council […]
MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ — As Nick Perez-Santalla sits in his office in the Pentagon, it sometimes dawns on him how his life has come full circle. The attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 felt personal, considering there had always been a feeling of awe and pride associated with being able to look out […]
MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ — The police chief and one of his high-ranking officers have agreed to forego about $90,000 in accrued vacation and sick time as part of their resignation settlements with the borough in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought against the municipality. Chief Allan Attanasio has given up a claim to $37,918, and Detective Sgt. […]
MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ — Police Chief Allan Attanasio and Detective Sgt. Andrew Huber are retiring, borough officials have announced, two and a half months after they were identified in a lawsuit against the municipality accusing them of harassment. The two were removed from the borough’s payroll July 20, according to a statement read by Mayor Paul […]
MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ — The Union County Prosecutor’s Office knew of the now-infamous sex toy that was cited in a lawsuit by five police officers and a borough employee about a year before they sued, a newly obtained letter shows. The 46-page suit accused Sgt. Andrew Huber of inappropriately touching others in the department with the […]
MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – Several residents have told the mayor and Borough Council they are concerned that a recent lawsuit filed against the borough by five male police officers and a female clerical employee could raise taxes and decrease property values. At the June 19 council meeting, a $200,000 emergency appropriation was approved to help pay […]
MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – A Mountainside man was arrested at Newark Liberty Airport last week while attempting to board a plane for Florida after he had allegedly used a shotgun to rob a jewelry store in Passaic County, police said. Marc Niedle, 30, and his girlfriend, Emily Lopazanski, 34, of the Fords section of Woodbridge, walked […]