Mayor of N.J. town under fire for moving $125K painting out of the public eye and into his office
Updated Mar 17, 2021;
Posted Mar 17, 2021
Belleville Mayor Michael Melham, celebrating Ugly Sweater Day in his office in December 2020 with the historical painting on the wall.Photo courtesy of Michael Melham
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The mayor of an Essex County town says he was trying to save a 200-year-old painting from water damage when he moved the piece – appraised at $125,000 – out of the Belleville Public Library and into his office down the street.
But some have accused Mayor Michael Melham of swiping “Landscape of Belleville,” from the public’s view and hanging it in his locked, private office at Town Hall.
Woman, 44, struck and killed by garbage truck while crossing street, authorities say
Updated Jan 28, 2021;
Posted Jan 28, 2021
Ximena Aguilar, 44, was struck in the area of Washington Avenue and Little Street in Belleville, police said.Photo courtesy of Michael Sheldon
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Ximena Aguilar was struck in the area of Washington Avenue and Little Street by a truck owned by Interstate Waste Services, according to Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, and Belleville Police Chief Mark Minichini.
Aguilar was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 1 p.m., according to police and the prosecutor.
No charges were filed. Police said the truck driver remained at the scene.
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a rioting mob of President Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol yesterday and, for the first time since the Civil War, disrupted the transfer of power because their favored candidate lost the election.
N.J. school board member charged with DWI files excessive-force complaint against cops
Updated Jan 06, 2021;
Posted Jan 06, 2021
Erika Jacho, who serves on the Belleville Board of Education, faces DWI and other charges.Belleville Board of Education
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A school board member in Essex County who was charged with driving while intoxicated near an elementary school has filed an excessive force complaint against the police officers who arrested her.
Erika Jacho, 41, who serves on the Belleville Board of Education, made the complaint the day after her arrest on Oct. 21, according to township police Chief Mark Minichini.
Investigators say Jacho has claimed that one or more of the officers used excessive force after they found her sleeping inside her car near a bar and public school on Joralemon Avenue.
Ricky Terrell pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm
An Essex County, New Jersey, man admitted possessing a handgun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Ricky Terrell, 24, of Newark, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Court Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, specifically, the possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.
According to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito and documents filed in this case and statements made in court Stephen Crane Village is a public housing complex in Newark, where law enforcement officers investigated individuals who controlled an open-air drug market.