"The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will auction off a sprawling
beachfront villa in New Jersey to help close a $17 million budget
deficit and pay off millions in legal bills. The 11-bedroom vacation house in Ventnor, near Atlantic City, is set for auction on Sept. 15."
Imagine the ghosts haunting that mansion, 'eh?
Better lock your doors:
"Woman denies NJ man locked her in room for years
PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — A woman found behind a padlocked door inside a
New Jersey apartment said man accused of holding her there for years is
"a good man" who never abused her and that she simply doesn't like to go
outside.
Nancy Rodriguez Duran said the kidnapping case against 42-year-old
Michael Mendez is a lie and that she asked him to padlock the bedroom
door with her inside on the day police found her.
Speaking to reporters before Mendez appeared in court Tuesday, Duran
said Mendez was going out last Thursday and she was worried about
maintenance workers coming into their Paterson, N.J., apartment and
seeing her in a nightgown. She said workers had occasionally walked in
the apartment before without knocking.
"He padlocked the door with my consent," she said through tears. "He's a good man. He never hit me. He never abused me."
Later, during a brief court appearance, Mendez pleaded not guilty to
kidnapping, false imprisonment and drug charges. Bail was continued at
$1 million.
As he turned to leave the courtroom, Mendez mouthed the words "I love you" to Duran, who was sitting in the gallery.
A state police street gang unit searching the apartment for drugs
last Thursday found the 44-year-old woman in the locked bedroom. Based
on interviews and evidence, investigators believe she was kept in the
room for extended periods of time for the last two years and possibly up
to 10 years, state police said.
Police say Mendez is a member of the Latin Kings street gang.
Investigators said Duran was only let out of the room when he was home, but she disputed that.
Authorities have described Duran as Mendez's girlfriend. She said
they consider themselves husband and wife, though they never got a
marriage license. The pair have been together for 14 years, the last 10
at the apartment complex, she said.
She said there was nothing sinister about her infrequent trips outside.
"I like being inside. I don't like to go out," she said. "It's not
that he was keeping me there. I'm his wife. Why should he keep me in a
room for 10 years? How could I be so healthy? I should be dead by now."
The state attorney general's office declined to comment on her statements that she wasn't held against her will.
A neighbor told The Associated Press he saw Duran a few times in
recent years, though it was rare. The man, who refused to give his name
because of worries over safety, said he remembered seeing the woman get
into a car sometime in the last few years.
Other neighbors said they weren't aware that another person was living in the apartment.
State police said they found 4,200 prescription pills valued at
$100,000, 190 grams of marijuana valued at nearly $2,000 and nearly
$23,000 in cash inside the apartment.
Mendez once worked as a roofer but has been on disability for the
last several years because of lung problems and bipolar disorder, Duran
said. She said at least some of the drugs found in his apartment were
prescription medications, though she said she turned over marijuana to
the investigators.
--more--"
If all else fails, burn it down:
"A New Jersey teenager charged with attempted murder and arson after a
fire at her family’s house remains in custody pending another court
hearing."
Kids. I wonder what could have caused such an outburst.
"Woman sues over breastfeeding video" Associated Press, August 11, 2012
FAIR LAWN, N.J. — When MaryAnn Sahoury agreed to appear with her
month-old daughter in a breast-feeding instructional video, she saw an
opportunity to help women who had trouble getting their babies to nurse.
But someone took the footage of Sahoury nursing her daughter and
spliced it with pornography posted on the Internet.
‘‘It was terrifying,’’ Sahoury said.
Last week, a federal court judge in New Jersey ruled that a lawsuit
Sahoury filed against Meredith Corp., an Iowa-based media and marketing
company that shot and produced the video for Parents TV, could proceed.
The lawsuit claims Sahoury, 35, was verbally assured her full name
would not be used in the video; instead, it displayed Sahoury’s full
name on screen, the suit said. Meredith claims Sahoury signed a release
on behalf of herself and her daughter allowing the company to use their
‘‘image, voice, and name.’’
When her daughter was born in December 2009, Sahoury had trouble
nursing and used a lactation consultant. The following month the
consultant asked Sahoury if she wanted to appear in an instructional
video to talk about her breast-feeding experiences and demonstrate
nursing techniques. Sahoury agreed because she wanted to help other
women overcome their fears about breast-feeding.
Sahoury said she was asked to sign a piece of paper while she was
leaving the shoot with the baby. She admits to not reading the document
and said she believed it backed up the assertion that her full name
would not be used.
In July 2010, Sahoury Googled herself. She was shocked by what she
saw: numerous links to pornographic sites and videos containing her
name. She clicked on one and saw the video edited to include a woman
with ‘‘similar features and stature’’ performing sex acts.
--more--"
Just don't lose your head over it:
"A woman who had admitted to drug use and recently regained custody of
her toddler decapitated the boy, put his head in her freezer, and
fatally stabbed herself as officers stood outside her home, officials
said Wednesday."
"A New Jersey teenager left brain-damaged after being struck by a line
drive off a metal bat while playing in a baseball game will receive
$14.5 million to settle his lawsuit against the bat manufacturer, Little
League Baseball, and a sporting goods chain. The settlement of Steven Domalewski’s lawsuit was announced in state Superior Court Wednesday in Passaic County."
