Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy Con Artist Spent Weeks Fooling Shelter Officials

Victims of Hurricane Sandy weren't the only ones taken in by David Scott Ruddy. A shelter survivor was the one who turned Ruddy in after officials ignored her pleas.

When David Scott Ruddy was arrested in Woodbridge for allegedly flimflamming Hurricane Sandy victims out of $50,000 in FEMA funds, there was one person who not only knew who he was, but had been calling and warning officials about him for months. That was Kathleen Marchitto, who met Ruddy first at a shelter put up at an Old Bridge school, and then later when she and other hurricane victims were moved to the Red Cross shelter set up at Livingston College of Rutgers University in Piscataway. Marchitto, whose South River apartment was flooded during the October hurricane, was at the Livingston College shelter for three weeks, and for the entire time she was there, Ruddy was there. "I knew there was something about him I didn't like. He was …

•  10 Comments
• Photos (4)

Paul Heyman

2:47 pm on Saturday, February 16, 2013

mr pubic lice as usual your lack of understanding of the constitution is laughable.   more ›

Colonia Couple Arrested on $40K Hurricane Sandy Scam

Woodbridge authorities allege that Christine Winters and Michael Daddario made thousands by taking deposits on rental housing that didn't exist.

A Colonia couple charged with bilking would-be renters out of thousands in deposits for homes they never obtained may have gotten a big boost from Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane that caused so much dislocation for families has caused a tightening of the rental market in some parts of the state, and that's where Christine Winters, 46, really started to expand a rental scam by posting housing ads on Craigslist, officials charge. By offering impossibly good rental deals at cheap prices, Winters allegedly defrauded more than 40 people to the tune of $40,000, said Woodbridge Police Captain Roy Hoppock. Police took note as they began to receive complaints about a woman who took deposits for housing that didn't exist, and then disappeared with …

•  17 Comments
• Photos (1)

Lori Lewkowitz

9:17 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012

Did they really think they could have gotten away with this crime?   more ›

UPDATE: Missing Avenel Girl, Found in Rahway, Was a Runaway

Marhama Saidhatimi, 13, has been found safe after running away from home, police said.

The 13-year-old girl who was missing early yesterday morning was found last night in Rahway. Marhama Saidhatimi of the Avenel section of Woodbridge turned up in the city about a mile from her home, said Sgt. Vincent Fazio of the Woodbridge Police Department. The girl wasn't abducted; she had run away from home, Fazio said. Saidhatimi was last seen at 4 am on Monday, October 15. Her family woke up later that morning and discovered she was gone. The girl rang the doorbell of a home on Martin Street in Rahway, the city's police department told mycentraljersey, and appeared to be lost. That was about 10:35 pm Monday night, Fazio said. Woodbridge police came to pick up the girl and transported her to Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy. …

•  14 Comments
• Photos (2)

POLL: Hostage Saved by Woodbridge Police Officer To Sue Town for $5M

Ellen Shane, who was rescued by Sgt. Edward J. Barrett in March, wants the township to pay for the pain and suffering she says she endured

The hostage whose life was saved by a Woodbridge police officer during a standoff with a knife-wielding man in March, plans to file a $5 million lawsuit against the town, citing the stress she said she suffered from the experience. According to a report on nj.com, Ellen Shane, 62, of Carteret claims in court papers that she and her husband, Ronald Shane, were traumatized by the incident that took place at Sears in Woodbridge Center Mall. The legal notice of claim, filed by lawyer David Corrigan of Eatontown, states that Woodbridge Officer Edward J. Barrett Jr. failed to take appropriate action with the hostage-taker, Andreas Garcia. Garcia had grabbed Ellen Shane by the hair and was holding a knife to her throat when Barrett fired a …

•  42 Comments
• Photos (1)

Body Found on Route 9 Was Partially Decomposed

DOT workers found a body hidden in the tall grass this morning by the Green Street turnoff in Woodbridge on Route 9.

Department of Transportation workers who were on mowing duty on Route 9 in Woodbridge this morning stumbled across a body hidden in the grass, authorities said. The discovery was made at approximately 10:30 am, said Woodbridge Police Captain Roy Hoppock. "It didn't appear to be of a suspicious nature," Hoppock said about the discovery. The Middlesex County Medical Examiner has possession of the body and is performing an autopsy. Hoppock couldn't say how long the body was there, except that "there was some decomposure." It's not unusual for people dashing across the busy highway to get struck by cars, but Hoppock said this didn't appear to be a hit and run. "The body would've been closer to the roadway," he said. There was no determination…

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Police Officer Hailed as Hero in Woodbridge Mall Shooting

Suspect who held a woman at knifepoint was taken out by one shot from Officer Edward J. Barrett, authorities say.

Woodbridge Police Officer Edward J. Barrett, 32, is being credited by authorities with saving the life of a 62-year-old woman who was being held at knifepoint by a suspected shoplifter and parole violator at the Woodbridge Center Mall Thursday night. "I don't know all the details," Mayor John McCormac said in a broadcast interview. "All I know is the cop was a hero. He literally saved the woman's life and we're very, very proud of the job that he did."  Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan and Woodbridge Police Director Robert Hubner said Barrett dropped Andres Garcia, 44, with a bullet to the head after Garcia held a knife to the throat of a 62-year-old female shopper while trying to flee from police. Barrett was in uniform and had …

•  6 Comments
• Photos (5)