Regional Briefs – Novenber 14, 2019

Catskill Aqueduct Shut Down For 10 Weeks of Repairs

NEW YORK (AP) – New York City has begun a 10-week shutdown of the Catskill Aqueduct to allow repairs of the 95-year-old tunnel.

The Department of Environmental Protection plans to restore the aqueduct to maximum capacity by stripping the walls of biofilm to increase water flow, repairing minor leaks in the system and replacing 30 original valves.

DEP spokesman Adam Bosch says none of the towns serviced by the aqueduct will notice any difference during the repairs.

Grocery Store Owner Gets Prison Term for Food Stamp Scheme

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The owner of a grocery store in New Jersey’s largest city is headed to prison for running a food stamp benefit fraud scheme while trying to hide his involvement in the business.

Jamil Bader received a 37-month sentence Thursday. The 60-year-old Teaneck man pleaded guilty in July to a fraud count. Bader gave some customers cash in return for their food stamp benefits and kept a portion of the money for himself.

NJ Weighs Ditching Minimum Sentences for Some Crimes

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says the state will work to overhaul its criminal sentencing guidelines, including eliminating certain mandatory minimum sentences.

The first-term Democrat unveiled recommendations Thursday from the Criminal Sentencing & Disposition Commission.

Among their recommendations is eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders as well as nonviolent “property crimes,” like shoplifting.

Police Were Chasing Car Than Crashed, Sending SUV Into Porch

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Police were pursuing a car that hit six parked vehicles and sent an SUV into a home’s porch in New Jersey.

Trenton police say the vehicle was speeding early Wednesday when they gave chase before the car crashed into the other vehicles. It then burst into flames and sent the SUV into the porch of the home on Johnston Avenue in Hamilton Township.