Addiego, Rudder ask Attorney General to help in Burlington County's war on gangs, crime

      “Gangs are now a problem in our communities, our schools and our prisons,” said Assemblywoman Addiego. “We can not afford to spend this money without seeing results. An injection of stimulus money will enable law enforcement to keep our neighborhoods safe, and we’re asking the Attorney General to make that a priority.”

      Milgram has discretion over $30 million in federal economic stimulus funds that will be distributed to police departments in the state. More than $13 million of the federal money is earmarked for anti-gang efforts.

      “We’re at a critical juncture right now, and an investment in local law enforcement will pay dividends in increased safety and peace of mind for residents,” said Assemblyman Rudder. “This stimulus money can help our towns deliver a message to gang members, drug dealers and criminals that they are not welcome, and they won’t be tolerated.”

      Last month, the Attorney General’s office released the New Jersey Uniform Crime Report indicated crime was up 6 percent in Burlington County, and there has been a disturbing spike in gang-related crimes and homicides.

      “Our towns need help, and police departments in Burlington County can effectively use the stimulus funding to end the increasing rate of crime cited in the Attorney General’s report. We have an opportunity to reverse the trend and ensure the quality of life in our communities,” said Assemblywoman Addiego.

      In a letter to the Attorney General, the lawmakers criticized the efforts of United States Senator Robert Menendez to channel more money into Camden and Newark.

      “Camden and Newark are ineligible for the stimulus money because they can not account for how they spent grant money that was intended to pay for the hiring of new police officers. Our towns can better use the money to fight crime while providing accountability of how and where the money was utilized,” said Assemblyman Rudder.

      Burlington County Sheriff Jean Stanfield is also seeking to apply for some of the $13.4 million in additional federal dollars that Governor Corzine is allocating to anti-gang initiatives.  However, the State would have to earmark the funds for competitive grant applications, and not just direct monies to hand-picked jurisdictions.

      That money would be used to target the spread of violence and gang-related crime in the towns traversed by the River Line light rail.

      In 2007, Burlington County was awarded a $500,000 grant from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance. That grant money funded a task force for rapid response to gang incidents, and a high tech InfoShare network, which will enable communities to share and learn more about gang activity in the county. Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi will be rolling out the information network to key police departments this summer.

      “This is an example of grant money being put to good use,” said Assemblywoman Addiego. “We can anticipate positive results from this investment, and the county and municipal police departments can go even further in curbing the violence with the help of additional federal dollars.”

      Burlington County has been experiencing a recent increase in the number and severity of gang-related crime.

*    A member of the Bloods street gang was arrested this week after a fight in Pemberton Township. When he was arrested, he was linked to a backpack containing a stole 9mm handgun, hollow-point bullets, conventional ammunition, and 45 bags of crack cocaine.

*    The Burlington County Gang Task Force executed 22 arrest warrants on suspected gang members in October. Operation Crew  Cut took gang members off the streets of Mount Holly, Edgewater Park, Burlington Township, and Willingboro.

*    In March, a Pemberton man with suspected ties to a street gang was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a long list of drug and weapon charges

*    Two members of the Bloods street gang pleaded guilty in April to the shot-gun killing of a Willingboro man and the attempted murder of a Mt. Laurel man who drove the get-away car for the murder.

*    Two of the suspects rounded up in an August drug raid in Browns Mills were connected to a set of the Bloods gang.

*    In April, three men were indicted for shooting two Camden men, killing one, outside the Mt. Laurel Marriott. All three suspects have connections to the Bloods or the Latin Kings gangs.

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June 8, 2009

The Hon. Anne Milgram                                                            Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General

PO Box 080

Trenton, NJ 08625-0080 

Dear Attorney General Milgram: 

Gangs and gang-related violence are no longer problems exclusive to our cities. 

Suburban communities are currently under attack from street gangs that are responsible for everything from unsightly graffiti that robs property value from entire neighborhoods to drug and weapon sales, to murder. 

Street gangs are threatening the way of life in communities in Burlington County. They have become a problem in our towns, in our schools and even in our prisons. 

It is imperative that we – lawmakers, law enforcement, and the Attorney General’s office – work together to stop this assault on the good people of New Jersey. 

We are especially concerned about the efforts of Senator Robert Menendez to channel stimulus money to Camden and Newark, two cities that are unable to account for their last injection of grant money. 

Sending more money to Camden and Newark, where there is no transparency and no accountability, would be foolhardy. 

Instead, we urge you to appropriate enough stimulus money to Burlington County and its municipalities to allow law enforcement to deliver a knock-out punch to the gang infiltration and to protect the quality of our neighborhoods and schools. 

Our towns need your help. In Burlington County, law enforcement has been extremely busy with gang-related issues. 

The Burlington County Prosecutor and Sheriff already have a track record of working cooperatively with local police departments to identify, deter and apprehend gang members involved in major crime.   

The daily newspaper has been full of reports of horrific murders and other violent crimes with gang connections. 

*          A member of the Bloods street gang was arrested this week after a fight in Pemberton Township. When he was arrested, he was linked to a backpack containing a stole 9mm handgun, hollow-point bullets, conventional ammunition, and 45 bags of crack cocaine. 

*          The Burlington County Gang Task Force executed 22 arrest warrants on suspected gang members in October. Operation Crew  Cut took gang members off the streets of Mount Holly, Edgewater Park, Burlington Township, and Willingboro. 

*          In March, a Pemberton man with suspected ties to a street gang was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a long list of drug and weapon charges 

*          Two members of the Bloods street gang pleaded guilty in April to the shot-gun killing of a Willingboro man and the attempted murder of a Mt. Laurel man who drove the get-away car for the murder. 

*          Two of the suspects rounded up in an August drug raid in Browns Mills were connected to a set of the Bloods gang. 

*          In April, three men were indicted for shooting two Camden men, killing one, outside the Mt. Laurel Marriott. All three suspects have connections to the Bloods or the Latin Kings gangs. 

We can not afford to follow the same map that has gotten us to this point. It is time to make an investment in law enforcement that will pay dividends to our residents for many years to come. 

If you would like to discuss this matter further, please feel free to call us at our 8^th District office in Medford, at (609) 654-1498. 

Sincerely,

DAWN MARIE ADDIEGO / Assemblywoman

SCOTT RUDDER / Assemblyman