Ramapo Justice Court’s session on town violation cases – mostly housing cases – lasted about seven minutes Tuesday, with Justice Rhoda Schoenberger and Assistant Town Attorney Anita G. Conklin handling 10 cases. Only two of the 10 names listed on the calendar showed up for court. The lack of defendants led to a smooth session [...]

Former Airmont Mayor John Layne has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct involving his former job as Sloatsburg village building inspector. Layne, who did inspections for Wesley Hills and private work, was sentenced to a year’s conditional discharge and must repay one of his victim’s $350 during a court hearing Wednesday in [...]

Rene Charles, Spring Valley, Daniel Jean-Baptiste, shooting, 1994

Moishe Turner, Monsey, sex abuse, Kenneth Gribetz, Justice William Kelly

India woman from Ramapo faces prison for burning daughter-in-law with iron and treated her like a servant when sentenced in January by Rockland Judge William K. Nelson.

The Hillcrest Fire Co. will hold its annual children’s Christmas party on Sunday at the Mount Ivy Firehouse, 16 Thiells-Mount Ivy Road, Pomona. The volunteers’ party starts at 3 p.m. Aside from gifts, food, drink and entertainment, the hightlight of the party is Santa Claus visting the firehouse in his firetruck and talking to the [...]

Rockland Jewish Community Center members and widows of two slain Israeli Olympians continued to pressure the  International Olympic Committee to approve a minute of silence in honor of the 11 Israelis murdered by terrorists at the 1972 Munich games. A JCC contingent and the widows held a news conference in London seeking to ratchet up [...]

Former Rockland District Attorney Michael Bongiorno is making a come-back. He’s returning to the courtroom, announcing in an e-mail to friends and supporters that he’s starting a private law practice – the Law Office of Michael E. Bongiorno. Bongiorno, a Republican,  served as district attorney from 1995 until November 2007, when he lost  close race [...]

The good news is Spring Valley will get $135,500 in state funds toward crime-fighting. The bad news is Spring Valley is one of 17 jurisdictions across the state that qualifies for Operation IMPACT money based upon a level of drug dealing and violent crime. The program,created in 2004, is a partnership among the primary police [...]

A Rockland woman who found an Internet photo of herself having sex with a former boyfriend has spurred a proposed law banning such postings without the consent of the adults involved. State Sen. David Carlucci, D-Rockland, says he will be joined by Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe, local law enforcement officials and advocacy organization [...]

Students and staff at Thiells Elementary School held a blood drive in honor of fourth-grader Sean DePatto who has leukemia. The event provide the Hudson Valley Blood Services with 99 pints of blood from 113 donors during the drive on Jan. 13 at the North Rockland School District school, Assistant Principal Angela Sullivan said. The [...]

The first political clash of 2011 is taking shape in the race to success James Kralik as Rockland County sheriff. Two long-time Rockland police officers —Sheriff’s Chief Louis Falco and Clarkstown Detective Sgt. Tim O’Neill — will be declaring their intentions of running for sheriff. Falco, 52 of Blauvelt, will kick off the 2011 election [...]

Saving the county $3,000 a day, Rockland officials got a comatose inmate released from custody on drug charges without bail. The decision allowed jail officials to remove correction officers from watching the inmate at Nyack Hospital after just one day and stopped the cost at $3,000. Nathan G. Patnode of Vermont remains comatose today after [...]

The Rockland Holocaust Museum and Study Center celebrates Black History Month at 3 p.m. Sunday with a film about the Mississippi community where three civil rights workers were murdered in April 1964. The film NESHOBA tells the story of two Jews from New York and an African-American from Mississippi who went to Philadelphia, a small Mississippi [...]

A college faternity in Rockland is holding a blood drive from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday  in Pilgrim Baptist Church at 80 N. Franklin Ave. in Nyack. The blood drive marks the 100-year birthday of the Omega Psi Phi Inc. Xi Lambda Lambda Chapter. The fraternity’s blood drives also honor Dr. Charles R. Drew, [...]

Rockland police unions are in fund-raising modes. • The Clarkstown PBA is holding 3.1-mile walk and/or run for  Oct. 2 in memory of Jami Erlich, a Ramapo Central School District elementary school gym teacher murdered inside her Valley Cottage apartment in November 2009. The man accused of killing her is being held in the county [...]

Clarkstown Detective Sgt. Tim O’Neill has been honored for his work on Irish causes by the Irish Echo newspaper. O’Neill was selected with 35 others in law enforcement across the United States. The newspaper cited O’Neill’s trips to Northern Ireland on missions for peace and rconcilliation and his involvement with local issues of the Ancient [...]

Crazy season has begun as campaigns gear up for primary election in September and the November general election. In Spring Valley, mayoral candidate Bernard Charles Jr. screamed foul with he said 80 of his campaign signs were removed from the streets. Charles claimed Mayor George Darden, who is not seeking re-election, order the DPW to [...]

Three members of Rockland’s state legislative delegation have urged Gov. David Paterson reconsider his decision to close the state police laboratory in Newburgh. Law enforcement in Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan counties depend on the laboratory for analysis on evidence for criminal cases and prosecutions. The lab has serviced the lower Hudson Valley [...]

Baile Glauber told The Journal News minutes after graduating from the Rockland Police Academy in June 2008 that she was “excited” about starting her career as a Ramapo police officer. Glauber (pictured right) declined at the time to discuss her life even though she became a feel-good story because she grew up in the Satmar [...]

This week is honor your probation officer in Rockland County. Well, if you’re lucky enough not to have such a close relationship with a probation officer, then join the county executive in honoring the work done by probation officers. The Rockland County Probation Department is taking part in New York State’s Probation, Parole & Community [...]

Rockland Sheriff’s Department Senior Deputy Dennis J. Salemo just completed a training program on working civil cases, such as process serving, and enforcement of judgments, and other court orders like evictins, and mandate. Salemo accepts certification of achievement from Chris O’Brien, executive director of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association Institute, Inc. The importance of [...]

The Rockland County Police Hispanic Society is hosting the 6th annual “Salsa into the Summer” dance fundraiser on Friday  from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Nyack Seaport, 21 Burd St., Nyack. The fund-raiser will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rockland County. Tickets are priced at $30 before the fund-raiser and $40 at the [...]

Clarkstown Administrative Sgt. Harry Baumann today marked his 42nd year in law enforcement – including two years with the United Nations security force. His longevity day didn’t turn into a party – no donuts or coffee from his colleague. He said he spent the day training and taking telephone calls from the media. Part of [...]

Judge Catherine Bartlett has not held court for the past two weeks and has not scheduled any cases for the next few weeks. The Orange County lawyer, an appointed state Court of Claims judge, remains assigned to Rockland County Courthouse, but has taken time off for a medical procedure, said Judge Francis Nicolai, the administrative [...]