On Friday morning, a video was floating around cyberspace in which a plainclothes police officer in New Jersey was confronted by a man for what looks like a blatantly illegal search of his car. The video has garnered more than half a million views.
On Saturday the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office is under fire for the incident and the officer has been referred to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office for investigation, according to the Paterson Times.
“In an effort to assure an independent investigation of the circumstances around the search video, the sheriff referred the matter to the prosecutor’s office for a thorough and independent review,” said William Maer, spokesman for Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik, on Friday afternoon.
In the still-undated video, a man can be heard yelling at an officer on a Paterson, N.J., street, apparently after seeing him rifling through his car: “Yo. What the fuck is you doing? What is you doing in my van?” the clearly distraught man asks.
“I’ll tell you what—come here,” replies the officer as he looks guilty as hell, walking away from the inquiring man.
“I’m not going over there. I’m going to stay in the middle of the street,” he replies (smart man).
“Come over here. Come here.”
“What is you in my car for when I’m sitting down, eating with my family?” the individual asks the officer. “How did you get in my car?”
“It’s open. It’s wide open,” replies the officer.
“Still. Still. You’re not supposed to be in my van, sir,” the man is heard saying in the video.
Of course, the cop begins to make up some bogus excuse.
“We had a lot of reports of guns in this van in this neighborhood,” the officer tells the man, although the law clearly states that police cannot search vehicles without consent or a warrant, which, judging by the video, he didn’t have.
The man asks for the officer’s name and badge number. “Y’all getting caught doing things y’all ain’t supposed to be doing. Y’all fucking buggin’. I know my rights.”
The officer’s identity has not been disclosed by the sheriff’s office.
“This is incredibly troubling and disturbing,” said Ed Barocas, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey. “You have an individual who appears to be a law-enforcement officer entering someone’s vehicle without permission and seemingly without any lawful authority. Not only is it improper, it’s a crime.”
Barocas continues, “If there is no authority, as there appears not to be, this [then should] be prosecuted just as you or I would be prosecuted for breaking into someone’s car,” he said.
No matter what we see with our very own eyes—on a daily basis—police officers will still be seen by many as heroes who can do no wrong. Especially when it comes to black folk.
===================
Passaic County Sheriff’s Office under fire for questionable vehicle search
Zeitgeist
July 14, 2017 by Jayed Rahman
The Passaic County Sheriff’s Office is under fire after video of a questionable vehicle search went viral on social media on Friday morning. The video shows an unidentified man confronting a plainclothes law enforcement officer. The man accuses the officer of conducting a warrantless search of his van’s trunk.
It’s not clear when the incident occurred. The video was posted on Facebook on Friday morning. It has received almost 600,000 views. It is clear the incident took place on Union Avenue between Redwood Avenue and Jasper Street.
The incident has been referred to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office for investigation, said William Maer, spokesman for Passaic County sheriff Richard Berdnik.
“In an effort to assure an independent investigation of the circumstances around the search video, the Sheriff referred the matter to the Prosecutor’s office for a thorough and independent review,” said Maer on Friday afternoon.
“At this time, we can neither confirm nor deny any investigation conducted by the PCPO in relation to this matter,” said chief assistant prosecutor Mary Cate Ryan.
Maer did not say whether the officer had a warrant to search the individual’s vehicle. He also did not say when the incident occurred. Three high ranking current and former law enforcement officials interviewed for this report said the officer showed poor conduct by providing evasive answers when asked why the vehicle was being searched without the individual’s consent and failing to promptly identify himself as a law enforcement officer.
“Yo. What is you doing? What is you in my van for?” yells the man to the officer.
“I’ll tell you what, come here,” replies the officer as he walks away from the inquiring man.
“I’m not going over there. I’m going to stay in the middle of the street.”
“Come over here. Come here.”
“What is you in my car for when I’m sitting down, eating with my family,” says the individual to the officer.
The individual asks the officer how did he get access to the vehicle’s trunk. “It’s open. It’s wide open,” replies the officer.
“Still. Still. You’re not supposed to be in my van, sir,” the man is heard saying in the video.
“We had a lot of reports of guns in this van in this neighborhood,” the officer tells the man as justification for the search. Police cannot search vehicles without consent or warrants. However, there is something called the plain view doctrine that allows officers to conduct a search upon observing contraband inside a vehicle, said a former high ranking police official.
The video suggests the officer did not have a warrant. He also did not secure consent from the owner.
“This is incredibly troubling and disturbing,” said Ed Barocas, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Jersey, after reviewing the video footage. “You have an individual who appears to be a law enforcement officer entering someone’s vehicle without permission and seemingly without any lawful authority. Not only is it improper, it’s a crime.”
Barocas described the officer’s evasive conduct as “unprofessional.” He wasn’t alone former and current law enforcement officials interviewed for this report also said the officer behaved in an unprofessional manner.
The officer’s identity has not been disclosed by the sheriff’s office. There were other officers at the scene. There were at least two marked sheriff’s vehicles at the scene. One of the officers offers to give his business card when the man demanded identification and badge number from the plainclothes officer.
The video also disturbed local leaders.
“How often are they doing this? Who gave him the authority to do it? What is the Passaic County Sheriff Department searching people’s cars at will? Was he looking for something or putting something there?” remarked Paterson activist Ernest Rucker.
“We don’t know if it’s just an unlawful search which is bad enough itself or something more nefarious,” said Barocas.
“It seems like an illegal search. They didn’t have the person’s consent,” said Zellie Imani, a leader of the Black Lives Matter in Paterson. “I’m really alarmed and upset about the whole situation.”
The incident did not involve officers from the Paterson Police Department, according to city officials.
This incident also creates a big liability for the Passaic County government if the individual files a lawsuit claiming his civil rights were trampled by the sheriff’s officers.
Barocas is glad the prosecutor’s office has been brought into the situation. He hopes the prosecutor will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident. “If there is no authority, as there appears not to be, this [then should] be prosecuted just as you or I would be prosecuted for breaking into someone’s car,” he said.
=================
CORRUPT PASSAIC COUNTY SHERIFF DESTROYS EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE, INCLUDING CAR VIDEOS, RECORDS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS
STATE V.
STEPHANATOS
DOCKET
NO. 11002878
Indictment No.
11-09-00810-I
THE SERIOUSLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL CASE OF STATE V. BASILIS STEPHANATOSTax foreclosure companies in New Jersey (American Tax Funding, LLC, and others see for example this link: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-new-jersey-investors-plead-guilty-their-roles-bid-rigging-schemes-municipal-tax-lien) failed to follow the Anti-eviction laws and the Summary Dispossess Act and obtained a writ for removal without a hearing before a law-division judge - they basically used a self-certification and fooled the Office of Foreclosure in Trenton that had no jurisdiction over his real estate property as he had objected to the legal proceedings and no issues were ever adjudicated.
American Tax Funding, LLC, Robert Del Vecchio, Esq. and others also lied to the sheriff that he had threatened them with violence if they try to evict him from his home that he fully owned (no mortgage on the home). The sheriff then lied to the grand jurors that he displayed a gun at them and lied that they were injured in their shoulder by falling. In reality, the fraudulent former Sheriff Officer, Ronald A. Lukas, had been suffering from injury to his shoulder for many years due to heavy weight lifting and by playing the linebacker position with the Pompton Lakes Cardinals- what a lying piece of shit this "officer of the law".
In any event, six years ago, the grand jury indicts Dr. Stephanatos based on the fraudulent grand jury presentation and the willful failure to disclose to the Grand Jury clearly exculpatory evidence. In 2011, Dr. Stephanatos asked for speedy trial, but that never happened. At that time, Dr. Stephanatos also filed a motion to change the venue due to several conflicts of interest posed by the employment of his accusers at the Passaic County Court House and the fact that the former Presiding Judge of the Chancery Division, the very corrupt and incompetent Margaret Mary McVeigh was a witness to the proceedings.
What is even worse, a corrupt and lazy "Judge" named Miguel Dela Carrera, failed to transfer the case to another county despite several conflicts of interests: at least two (2) of the involved sheriff employees were employed at the Passaic County Courthouse; the former Presiding Judge of the Chancery Court, Margaret McVeigh, was a major witness in the case. These two conflicts required the case to be transferred to another venue, but the lazy, incompetent and corrupt De la Carrera failed to reach a decision for at least 3 years (!) and then failed to transfer the case! What a pathetic moronic "judge" sitting on the bench in Passaic County!
In early 2016, Dr. Stephanatos had been publishing in a blog the proceedings of the meritless criminal case against him. Based on the publishings, a good Samaritan came forward who provided evidence that Dr. Stephanatos was framed by Passaic County sheriff officers Lucas and d'Agostino. In his blog, Dr. Stephanatos has been complaining about the violation of his speedy trial rights: the delay of the case is now at 6.5 years and running!
In March 2016, and in order to prevent the spreading of the truth and the further discovery of exculpatory evidence, the Passaic county prosecutor, Peter Roby, then claimed that Dr. Stephanatos was crazy and that he must be submitted for psychiatric evaluation. He also claimed that the State’s witnesses could be threatened by Dr. Stephanatos.
Dr. Stephanatos' lawyer, Mr. Miles Feinstein, Esq of Clifton, NJ vehemently opposed the incarceration as violative of his first amendment rights, etc. In any event, they locked him up at the Bergen county jail from March 21, 2016 through May 25, 2016. During the last two weeks of his jail time, a state psychologist came and evaluated him. He found him intelligent, sane and competent. When Dr. Stephanatos asked him why it took them two months to show-up at the jail to evaluate him, he said he only got the assignment during the last week of April 2016.
In May 2016, Dr. Stephanatos then filed a complaint against judge de la Carrera (the judge who ordered his incarceration) with the presiding judge Ernest Capossela. Judge Capossela immediately dismissed Judge de la Carrera from the case and started presiding over the case on his own. He said that what de la Carrera and Passaic county prosecutor, Peter Roby, did was illegal and unconstitutional, as no threats were ever made by Dr. Stephanatos against anyone. All this stuff is in on the record. He made these statements and much more in open court on May 26, 2016 when he ordered Dr. Stephanatos' release.
Dr. Stephanatos then files a complaint with the New Jersey Supreme Court in September and October 2017. The NJ Supreme Court intervenes and orders the transfer of the case out of Passaic County due to the many conflicts of interest posed, as explained above.
On October 17, 2017, a meeting occurs between Judge Caposela, the presiding judge of the criminal division Marilyn Clark, Miles Feinstein and the third prosecutor in the case (Nubar Kasaryan was dismissed from the case!). Caposela provided the decision to transfer the case to another county due to the conflicts of interest: a former presidng judge (Margaret McVeigh) was a witness and several Passaic County officers were working at the courthouse and also were witnesses as well. Caposela said that he was very upset with "judge" Miguel De la Carrera because he should have transferred the case 6 years ago!
Now, the State has most likely lost the case, due to the violation of the speedy trial rights of Dr. Stephanatos, among other reasons.
The new judge is expected to dismiss the case for a number of reasons: violation of speedy trial rights, perjured testimony, failure to provide discovery, misleading the grand jury, prosecutorial misconduct, and so on.
Dr. Stephanatos suffered significant economic and non-economic losses. Many millions in damages.
In addition to the loss of his freedom and the loss of his dignity, he also lost income, family time, etc. You can understand.
The criminal case against Dr. Stephanatos is meritless, that is why it has been delayed for 6.5 years and counting. They have not even provided discovery! And the Passaic County Sheriff, Richard Berdnik, claims that all information about the names of the sheriff's officer's and their telecommunications, emails, phone calls does not exist anymore. Basically Berdnik has destroyed all the evidence to prevent the conviction of his officers for perjury, conspiracy to violate civil rights, and many other offenses. The thugs, who call themselves law enforcement officers, at work in Passaic County, the most corrupt county in New Jersey.
Here are some links regarding Dr. Stephanatos' criminal case:
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/03/explosive-bombshell-ronald-lucas.html
https://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/03/proofs-that-ron-lucas-was-not-at-scene_17.html
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2015/12/perjured-employees-and-prosecutorial.html
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/03/is-passaic-county-sheriff-richard_13.html
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-corrupt-andor-incompetent-chancery.html
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/01/walter-dewey-jr-of-passaic-county_14.html
https://sites.google.com/site/metropolitanenvironmental/explosive-bombshell-ronald-a-lucas-defrauded-new-jersey-s-police-and-firemen-system-by-claiming-that-he-suffered-on-the-job-injury
==========================
The
Honorable Ernest M. Caposela, A.J.S.C.
Assignment
Judge
Passaic
County Courthouse
77 Hamilton
Street, 6th Floor
Paterson,
NJ 07505
Phone:
973-247-8139
Fax:
973-247-8409
RE: STATE
V. STEPHANATOS
DOCKET
NO. 11002878
Indictment No.
11-09-00810-I
October 11,
2017
Dear Judge
Caposela:
I
want to apologize for this informal letter and email asking for a status of the
case because Mr. Miles Feinstein has not made any progress in obtaining the
requested discovery, despite my daily requests for updates.
After
repeated requests for case status, Mr. Feinstein finally called me on September
12, 2017 to tell me that the scheduled hearing on that date has been
cancelled. He provided several of his typical excuses for the adjournment
that I will not iterate here. He then continued to promise me that he
will have a meeting with the prosecutor, Mr. Nubar Kasaryan, to go over the file and the
discovery request. He did state that Mr. Nubar Kasaryan told him that the
Passaic County Sheriff did not provide with any additional information.
Mr. Feinstein stated that this may very well constitute destruction of evidence
among other things. He also said that he was ordered by you to meet with
the prosecutor and if necessary file another motion with this Court. I
have yet to hear anything from him since the September 12, 2017 phone call.
That
is why I am in the difficult position of writing again to the Court to provide
you with the attached DVD OF SHERIFF RADIO TRANSMISSIONS we received two years ago from Peter
Roby. We want all the caller names on that DVD. These callers are
potential important exculpatory witnesses. This information will also
help me determine the location/whereabouts of Ronald A. Lucas and
D’Agostino. As I indicated to the Court from my letters from the Bergen County
Jail, an informant told me that the Passaic County Sheriff has been deleting
the evidence on this case, after the bombshell revelation that Lucas had a
pre-existing injury in his shoulder by playing linebacker position for many
years and by lifting heavy weights and that I never threatened Robert Del
Vecchio with any violence. The prosecutor(s) and the Passaic County
Sheriff have yet to refute these allegations made by me almost two years
ago. THEY HAVE THE DUTY TO RESPOND WITH CONCRETE EVIDENCE REFUTING THESE
ALLEGATIONS, BUT THEY HAVE NOT DONE SO. THIS SHOULD TELL SOMETHING TO
THIS COURT.
THIS IS
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND EXCULPATORY INFORMATION THAT I MUST HAVE.
You can see
from that info in the attached PDF file that the recorder ID is VR-725.
The caller ID has been removed. We need to know the caller’s ID and the
recording made.
I was
arrested on June 28, 2011, more than 6.0 years ago using fraudulent charges and
false testimony (see our still pending Motion to Dismiss submitted to the Court
in 2015) and I still have not received the requested discovery of case
evidence. My speedy trial rights have been clearly violated. During
the Chambers meeting in April 2017 the State signed a Consent Order to provide
the requested discovery over a period of 45 days. That order was also
signed by you and Mr. Miles Feinstein. Yet, more than 6 months later,
I have not even received the requested discovery (which discovery I have been
begging Feinstein to obtain it since 2012!).
I am only
communicating with the Court due to the significant financial strain that the
case delays have caused and continue to place on me. My wife is
threatening to leave me due to the enormous stress placed on the relationship
and on her by these wrongful charges. I cannot find a job because the
employers run background checks and they see the arrest record and they deny me
a job.
So, I am
pretty desperate for the case to move forward as fast as possible to clear my
name. This is the reason I am writing to the Court and because I have not
seen anything from Mr. Feinstein despite my numerous emails and faxes to him.
(I have the record of the email and faxes I sent him asking for progress
updates).
Respectfully
Submitted,
Basilis N.
Stephanatos
(201)
366-4588
(973)
897-8162
Fax: (973)
810-0440
Very
Truly Yours,
Basilis
(Bill) N. Stephanatos, PhD, PE, JD
Tel.:
(201) 366-4588
Tel.:
(973) 897-8162
Fax:
(973) 810-0440
E-mail:
bstephanatos@gmail.com
E-MAIL CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The
contents of this e-mail message and any attachments are intended solely for the
addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or legally privileged
information. If you are the intended recipient, be aware that your use of
any confidential or personal information may be restricted by state and federal
privacy laws. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or if
this message has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the
sender by reply e-mail and then delete this message and any attachments from
any computer.
=================
FORMER PASSAIC COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICER RONALD A. LUCAS LIED DURING HIS GRAND JURY TESTIMONY WHEN HE CLAIMED THAT HE INJURED HIS LEFT SHOULDER DURING A FALL AT A WAYNE TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY PROPERTY. HE IN FACT HAD PRIOR INJURIES BY PLAYING FOOTBALL FOR MANY YEARS AND LIFTING WEIGHTS
As part of
an investigation we have been performing, we discovered that Ronald A.
Lucas, a former Passaic County sheriff officer with the Civil Division
lied about his on-the-job shoulder injury. Lucas claimed that he fell on
the job on June 28, 2011 at 687 Indian Road, Wayne, NJ and that he
injured his left shoulder requiring several pins. He then filed a
disability claim with the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits
(Police and Firemen Retirement System). He was granted disability for
one year with subsequent review. After he retired with claimed
disability, he obtained a job as part-time security guard at the
Pequannock High School. We discovered that Mr. Lucas suffered shoulder injuries while playing football and lifting heavy weights over his lifetime. He was a linebacker with the Pompton Lakes Cardinals, using his shoulder to hit and tackle his opponents during practice and during football games. We are attaching a picture showing that he was #41 in the Cardinal’s Pompton Lake football team. Lucas has fallen on his shoulder probably thousand times during his athletic and training career.
Everybody knows that linebackers hit and tackle their opponents using their shoulders. These athletes also lift heavy weights and they end-up injuries their shoulders. He even made the All County Team in 1980, showing how hard he was working out. Based on our investigation, we found that weight lifting athletes do suffer shoulder injuries of the type claimed by Lucas.
He also trained his two sons (Dean Lucas and Ronnie Lucas) into playing TE and DE positions also with the Cardinals football team. In fact, linebackers suffer at least 13.5 percent of all football injuries and at least 65 percent of the linebackers end up undergoing surgery.
We have obtained photos
showing Mr. Lucas lifting weights, after his alleged job-ending
disability. See for example the attached image that is dated December
2013. It is obvious to a reasonable and objective person that Lucas (in his mid-50s) took this incident on June 28, 2011 to claim on-the job-injury to be able to repair his previously injured shoulder at taxpayers’ expense and to retire and then blame Basilis Stephanatos for his injuries. After he retired, he started the double dipping. The finest of New Jersey at "work". But he was caught and he will face the consequences.
=====================
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 30, 2013
Two New Jersey Investors Plead Guilty for Their Roles in Bid-rigging Schemes at Municipal Tax Lien Auctions
Investigation Has Yielded 14 Guilty Pleas
Two financial investors who purchased municipal tax liens pleaded guilty today for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids at auctions conducted by New Jersey municipalities for the sale of those tax liens, the Department of Justice announced.
A felony charge was filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark, against Robert U. Del Vecchio Sr., of Hawthorne, N.J. According to the charge, from in or about 2000 until approximately December 2008, Del Vecchio Sr. participated in a conspiracy to rig bids at auctions for the sale of municipal tax liens in New Jersey by agreeing to allocate among certain bidders which liens each would bid on. Additionally, a felony charge was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark, against Michael Mastellone, of Cedar Knolls, N.J. for participating in a similar conspiracy from in or about 2000 until approximately February 2009. The department said that Del Vecchio Sr. and Mastellone proceeded to submit bids in accordance with the agreements and purchased tax liens at collusive and non-competitive interest rates.
“By conspiring to rig the bids of municipal tax liens, the conspirators profited at the expense of those already struggling financially,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “Protecting Americans from these types of bid-rigging schemes remains a high priority for the division.”
The department said the primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and restrain competition in order to obtain selected municipal tax liens offered at public auctions at non-competitive interest rates. When the owner of real property fails to pay taxes on that property, the municipality in which the property is located may attach a lien for the amount of the unpaid taxes. If the taxes remain unpaid after a waiting period, the lien may be sold at auction. State law requires that investors bid on the interest rate delinquent property owners will pay upon redemption. By law, the bid opens at 18 percent interest and, through a competitive bidding process, can be driven down to zero percent. If a lien remains unpaid after a certain period of time, the investor who purchased the lien may begin foreclosure proceedings against the property to which the lien is attached.
According to the court documents, Del Vecchio Sr. and Mastellone were involved in the conspiracy with others not to bid against one another at municipal tax lien auctions in New Jersey. Since the conspiracy permitted the conspirators to purchase tax liens with limited competition, each conspirator was able to obtain liens which earned a higher interest rate. Property owners were therefore made to pay higher interest on their tax debts than they would have paid had their liens been purchased in open and honest competition, the department said.
A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for a Sherman Act violation may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims if either amount is greater than the $1 million statutory maximum.
Today’s pleas are the 13th and 14th guilty pleas resulting from an ongoing investigation into bid rigging or fraud related to municipal tax lien auctions. Nine individuals – Isadore H. May, Richard J. Pisciotta Jr., William A. Collins, Robert W. Stein, David M. Farber, Robert E. Rothman, Stephen E. Hruby, David Butler and Norman T. Remick – and three companies – DSBD LLC, Crusader Servicing Corp. and Mercer S.M.E. Inc. – have previously pleaded guilty as part of this investigation.
Today’s charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office and the FBI’s Atlantic City, N.J., office. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to municipal tax lien auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Office at 212-335-8000, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm or contact the Atlantic City Resident Agency of the FBI at 609-677-6400.