The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Fair Lawn NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP) announced today that four men have been charged for their roles in a home invasion and auto theft that left a homeowner injured.
Continue reading Four Men Charged for Roles in Home Invasion and Auto Theft in Fair lawn
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Ridgewood NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Highway Traffic Safety (HTS) today announced the launch of enhanced enforcement efforts to deter impaired driving in New Jersey. Grant funding from HTS will support law enforcement agencies across the state in conducting patrols and sobriety checkpoints to remove alcohol- and drug-impaired drivers from the roads.
Continue reading The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign runs until Labor Day!
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Sea Girt NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Criminal Justice announced charges today against a Newark man and four co-defendants for their roles in a car theft ring.
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Hawthorne NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) announced today that a Passaic County man has been charged after he allegedly used a hidden camera to record children in his bathroom and attempted to meet with who he believed to be a 13-year-old child.
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Ridgewood NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety (HTS) today announced the launch of the annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign, a coordinated statewide initiative focused on changing behavior as well as enforcement efforts to drive home the life-saving importance of wearing seat belts.
Continue reading NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety Announces ‘Click It or Ticket’ Campaign
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Hackensack NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity & Accountability (OPIA) today announced the filing of criminal charges against a NJ Transit employee who allegedly engaged in a years-long scheme to sell phones purchased with NJ Transit funds for personal profit, unlawfully earning hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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Ridgewood NJ, The Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) filed a lawsuit today in New Jersey Superior Court in Mercer County, urging the Court to confirm that former U.S. Senator Robert Menendez is forever disqualified from running for, applying for, or holding any public office or employment in New Jersey state or municipal government and advising Menendez that doing so would constitute contempt of court. Other defendants subject to the permanent bar have nevertheless sought election to public office. Former Paterson Mayor Joey Torres was convicted of contempt in 2025 after running for mayor in 2022 in violation of a court order banning him from running for and holding public office.
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Paterson NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) announced today that Paterson City Council President Democrat Alex Mendez along with three alleged co-conspirators and another Paterson resident are facing new charges in a superseding indictment that alleges they stole ballots, forged ballots and voter registrations, and submitted them to help Mendez win Paterson’s May 2020 municipal election.
Continue reading Democrat Paterson City Council President Indicted for Election Fraud
file photo by Michael Ferrari
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Paterson NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) today announced that a Paterson school bus company pleaded guilty to a second-degree crime, and agreed to pay a six-figure penalty and face a decade-long ban from doing business with the State, after it put unqualified drivers behind the wheels of school buses and deceived school districts about its hiring practices and the safety of its bus fleet.
Continue reading Paterson Bus Company Used Unqualified Drivers to Transport Students
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Prospect Park NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), and the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) today announced that 39 people – including a Prospect Park councilman and members of the Lucchese Crime Family – have been charged with racketeering, gambling offenses, money laundering, and other crimes, after law enforcement executed search warrants at 12 locations throughout North Jersey earlier this week.
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Trenton NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) announced today that 10 people – including a temporary Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) employee – were indicted in March 2025 for allegedly illegally collecting unemployment benefits and other crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic. These crimes are unrelated to one another but highlight the ongoing investigative and enforcement efforts related to pandemic era frauds.
Continue reading Ex-NJ Department of Labor Employee Among 10 Accused Of COVID Relief Fraud
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Franklin Lakes NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Highway Traffic Safety (HTS) today announced the launch of a high visibility enforcement effort to reduce distracted driving. The campaign, known as “Put the Phone Away or Pay,” runs from April 1 through April 30, and provides funding for law enforcement agencies throughout the state to bolster enforcement of laws prohibiting texting and other forms of distracted driving. In addition to these enforcement efforts, HTS has launched a public awareness campaign to educate drivers about the dangers and consequences of distracted driving.
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Trenton NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity & Accountability (OPIA) today announced the filing of criminal charges against a suspended information technology employee with the Department of Children and Families (DCF), who allegedly accepted unlawful payments to provide case assistance and confidential information to two individuals who had separate matters being handled by DCF.
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Trenton NJ, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), and the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) today announced the arrests of two individuals charged with Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) related offenses this week.
Continue reading NJ Attorney General Reports Large Increase in Suspected Predatory Activity Online
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Trenton NJ, Governor Phil Murphy, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, the New Jersey State Police (NJSP), and the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) announced today the terms of an agreement in principle to resolve ongoing class action litigation regarding the timely processing of judicial orders expunging records associated with arrests and convictions for certain low-level offenses. The agreement sets out a path forward to ensure that New Jerseyans who have been granted a second chance through an expungement order have timely access to the benefits of expungement, which include better access to employment opportunities and suitable housing and reduced barriers to reintegration into society.
Continue reading Agreement Reached to Speed Up Expungement Processing for Low-level Offenses
