Former Pamrapo executive found guilty of embezzling
Brian Campbell – the former managing director of the Pamrapo Service Corporation, the investment arm of the former Pamrapo Savings Bank – was convicted of embezzling over $571,000 in commissions and fees belonging to the Service Corporation through a mail fraud scheme, said U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.
The jury returned the guilty verdict against Campbell on March 22, following an eight-day trial before U.S. District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise in Newark.
Campbell was convicted of all 33 mail fraud counts charged in the Superseding Indictment on which he was tried. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on Counts 34-37, which charged Campbell with money laundering.
Vets hold vigil for missing soldier on April 3
Members of the veterans community will hold a vigil for Douglas O’Neill, who was declared missing in action in Vietnam in 1972. The event will be held on April 3, which marks the anniversary of his helicopter’s vanishing on April 3, 1972 while taking part in the Vietnam War.
O’Neill was part of a mission to evacuate soldiers from an area in South Vietnam when his helicopter was reported missing.
The vigil will be held on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kennedy Boulevard and 39th Street. A tree will be planted in his honor.
Hoboken, Bayonne fire departments get grants
Rep. Albio Sires announced that two grants were awarded to the Hoboken and Bayonne fire departments last week. The Hoboken Fire Department received a grant award of $427,962, and the Bayonne Fire Department received a grant of $176,000 from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
This program provides grants to qualified agencies in order to strengthen their overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and related hazards. These grants will give the Hoboken Fire Department the ability to purchase a pumper truck, and provide the Bayonne Fire Department with the necessary funds to obtain vital equipment, including thermal imaging devices, a forcible entry prop, and a smoke generator for fire training.
Bayonne Women’s Club to discuss bullying
The new Bayonne Women’s Club will hold its third meeting on Thursday, April 7, at 7 p.m. in the Catholic War Veterans Post, located at 18 West 23rd Street. In honor of April being National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Barbara Gitelson, from the N.J. Child Assault Prevention Program, will speak on the topic of bullying.
The monthly theme is “A Spring Celebration,” and light refreshments will be served.
Women interested in more information may email the group at Bayonne.WomensClub@gmail.com, join the Facebook group “Bayonne Women’s Club,” or call (201) 339-8803 (the office of Dr. Mary Dunlap-Beales, vice president and co-founder of the club).
PSE&G contractor trimming trees on Avenue C
PSE&G has advised the City of Bayonne that the utility company’s contractor, Asplundh, will be trimming trees around electric lines on Avenue C in Bayonne, beginning on or about Thursday, March 24. Asplundh will be working on Avenue C between 43rd Street and 58th Street.
Bayonne gets piece of state transportation capital improvements
The Turnpike interchange and improvements for intermodal access to the former Military Ocean Terminal are among the 22 capital projects in Hudson County that are scheduled to advance with a total of $551 million in funding under the proposed $3.5 billion FY 12 Transportation Capital Program, the Christie Administration announced last week.
The program represents the first year of a five-year Transportation Capital Plan that Governor Chris Christie announced in January to put New Jersey on the path toward fiscal health by prioritizing projects, decreasing borrowing and increasing pay-as-you-go cash funding.
“New Jersey’s transportation system helps drive our economy,” Governor Chris Christie said. “The projects being funded in the FY 12 capital program reflect our focus on maintaining road, bridge and transit assets in a state of good repair and will benefit residents in every county throughout the state.”
Included in this program is $2.3 million to advance improvements to the Route 440/NJ Turnpike interchange in Jersey City and Bayonne and $1.4 million for intermodal access improvements at the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor.