Vas Advisor Pleads Guilty To Federal Charges

NEWARK – Last week, a former advisor to state Assemblyman Joseph Vas pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of illegally funneling money into Vas’ 2006 congressional campaign.
Ray Geneske, a longtime friend of Vas, admitted accepting $30,0000 from a developer and giving most of it to “straw donors” who wrote checks to the campaign. The [...]

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Vas Campaign Leader Pleads Guilty To Corruption Charge

TRENTON –  A man who served as a leader of the 2006 congressional campaign of state Assemblyman Joseph Vas pleaded guilty today to soliciting fraudulent campaign contributions, Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced.
According to Gramiccioni, Raymond Geneske, 73, of Perth Amboy, pleaded guilty before Superior [...]

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Indicted Again: Assemblyman Faces Additional State Charges

TRENTON – State Assemblyman Joseph Vas (D-Perth Amboy) was indicted again today on state corruption charges, Attorney General Anne Millgram announced.
Vas is charged with conspiring to obtain illicit gifts and payments from city vendors, and laundering money into his congressional campaign through straw donors while he was mayor of Perth Amboy.  The Attorney General’s Office [...]

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Assemblyman Indicted On Federal Corruption Charges

NEWARK – Assemblyman and former Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas was indicted yesterday along with his longtime aide Melvin Ramos on federal corruption charges, officials announced.
Vas and Ramos surrendered to Special Agents with the FBI in Newark this morning, Acting United States Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr. announced.
The indictment, which was unsealed today, charges Vas [...]

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Hospital Offers Stroke Prevention and Awareness Information

PERTH AMBOY—While people age 65 or older are at the highest risk of suffering a stroke, it’s important for people to know that stroke can occur at any age, and be aware of the signs and symptoms of this deadly ‘brain attack.’
“Although stroke may be our nation’s third leading cause of death and leading cause [...]

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In Honor Of National Police Week, May 10-17

By Diane Norek Harrison
PERTH AMBOY-This is from material given to me by Rose (Tarloski) and Jerry Celecki: In 1960, Perth Amboy Police Department had one chief of police, three police captains, 11 lieutenants, fourteen sergeants, three detectives and 55 patrolmen. There were three radio cars, one detective car, one chauffeur’s car, one patrol wagon, [...]

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FBI Raids Homes Of Vas, Former Aide

PERTH AMBOY – FBI agents raided the homes of former Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas and his former aide Melvin Ramos on April 23 last week.  The agents carried out several boxes from both homes at the end of the multi-hour search.
The scene attracted a small crowd of onlookers who lined the sidewalk across the [...]

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Middlesex Communities Receive Funding For Shared Communications Study

MIDDLESEX COUNTY – Woodbridge Township Mayor John E. McCormac, South Amboy Mayor John T. O’Leary, Carteret Mayor Daniel J. Reiman, and Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz, announced Monday that the four Middlesex County communities have received a $22,734 grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs to perform a radio communications engineering feasibility study [...]

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Despite Recession, Voters Pass Majority Of School Budgets

STATE – Despite the recession and a growing movement against increased taxes, voters passed a majority of the school budgets in Middlesex and Union counties on Tuesday.
Voters approved school budgets in 16 of 21 Union County school districts, though Garwood, Hillside, Kenilworth, Linden and Plainfield voters rejected their districts’ spending plans. Eighteen of 24 school [...]

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School Elections Today

STATE – On Tuesday, more than 550 of the state’s 603 school districts will hold elections where voters express approval or dissent on proposed budgets for the 2009-10 school year and fill about 1,500 school board seats, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association.
Polls are required to be open on April 21 between 5 [...]

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Students Participate In Leadership Forum

Students Participate In Leadership Forum—Five students from Perth Amboy Catholic School were invited to attend the 2009 People to People World Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. Selection for participation in the World Leadership Forum is based on high academic standing and promising leadership potential. Shivali Govani, Christina Puntiel, Tomasz Kasztelan, Kerry Dyke and Katarzyna Kasztelan [...]

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Perth Amboy Mayor Outlines Efforts For 2010 Census

PERTH AMBOY – Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz outlined the city’s plans to reach all residents at a press conference to mark the 2010 Census “one-year-out” milestone held on Wednesday, April 8.
She was joined by Ligia Jaquez, Deputy Regional Director, New York Region, U.S. Census Bureau; John M. Rodecker, Superintendent of Schools, Perth Amboy; Dianne [...]

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Local Authors Document Perth Amboy’s Past

 PERTH AMBOY – Two local authors compare vintage photography with their contemporary images in a new book that looks at Perth Amboy’s past and present.
Paul W. Wang and Katherine A. Massopust hope that their book, Then & Now: Perth Amboy, will “help people understand Perth Amboy’s rich history and that Perth Amboy is ever-changing.”
Among the [...]

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Another Vas Collaborator Guilty

Plea shows taint infects school system
PERTH AMBOY—Ana Pestrana, a part-time assistant recreation supervisor who is employed full-time by the city’s school district, became the second municipal employee to plead guilty to charges of using city funds to purchase items for former Mayor Joseph Vas.
Pestrana admitted in court on Monday that she used city funds to [...]

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Scandal Shocks Perth Amboy

Vas Collaborators
One Admits Guilt…

PERTH AMBOY — Jeffrey D. Gumbs, who was a top city administrator under former Mayor Joseph Vas, pleaded guilty Monday to theft, tampering with public records and the misapplication of the city’s property between April 2004 and November 2005.
Gumbs, who was the city’s director of human resources and supervisor of recreation [...]

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