PARSIPPANY — Parsippany Republican Committee Secretary Isabella Alfano, candidate for Morris County Surrogate, engaged in petty and personal attacks against her opponent, Freeholder Heather Darling, in Facebook posts on Monday, May 13. In addition to hitting Darling on alleged “topless photos of her” online, Alfano charged that Darling’s political career was advanced due to an “improper” romantic relationship.
“Mudslinging about personal lives and physical appearance is an all too common obstacle women face when running for office, and we are unfortunately seeing that pattern continue in the Morris County Surrogate’s race and the Parsippany GOP,” said Meghan Lynch, chairwoman of the Morris County Democratic Women’s Caucus (MCDWC). “The comments made by Isabella Alfano perpetuate the difficulties most female candidates experience, and should be a rallying cry for Republicans of conscience to call for her resignation from her party post.”
The “Unity Ticket” of incumbent Parsippany GOP Councilmembers Paul Carifi, Michael dePierro, and Loretta Gragnani are running under the banner of the Parsippany GOP in the June primary with the support of the Parsippany Republican Committee’s Executive Board. The MCDWC is urging Carifi, dePierro, and Gragnani in particular, as standard-bearers of the organization, to publicly call for Alfano’s resignation as Parsippany GOP Secretary.
“The time has come for both parties to say no to image-shaming in all its forms,” Lynch continued. “We should be able to stand up together and say what is clear: this is wrong.”
PARSIPPANY — Teva Pharmaceuticals USA recently took home United Way of Northern New Jersey’s 2019 Impact Award as the region’s commercial real estate project with the greatest positive impact for moving its U.S. headquarters from Pennsylvania to Parsippany.
The award was announced May 10 during the 19th annual United Way Commercial Real Estate Network Legacy Luncheon, a fundraiser attended by 500 leading commercial real estate industry professionals with keynote speaker Marni Walden, a 20-year wireless industry veteran and former Verizon Communications Inc. top media executive.
Finn Wentworth, founder and partner of Normandy Real Estate Partners, was also honored at the event as the recipient of the United Way Spirit Award. The award honors an individual from the commercial real estate industry whose actions reflect the values of United Way.
Finn Wentworth, founder and partner of Normandy Real Estate Partners, receives the United Way Spirit Award from United Way of Northern New Jersey CEO John Franklin. The award, which was presented at the 19th annual United Way Commercial Real Estate Network Legacy Luncheon, honors an individual from the commercial real estate industry whose actions reflect the values of United Way. Photo credit: Steve Hockstein/HarvardStudio.com / Courtesy of United Way of Northern New Jersey
Due to the industry’s support of the luncheon, including Gold sponsors JLL, Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, Normandy Real Estate Partners, Turner Construction Company and WB Wood, United Way raised an estimated $290,000 for its work to improve life for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) individuals and families who are working but struggling to afford the basics. Since 2000, the commercial real estate industry has helped to raise more than $2.9 million for United Way.
“We appreciate the longstanding support and generosity of this industry, which has helped put ALICE individuals and families on a path to financial stability,” said United Way Senior Vice President for Resource Development Theresa Leamy. “United Way also congratulates the Teva team for its commitment to retaining and creating jobs, providing a competitive workplace and having a positive impact on the local economy.”
Former Verizon Communications Inc. top media executive Marni Walden was the keynote speaker at the 19th annual United Way Commercial Real Estate Network Legacy Luncheon, which saw 500 leading industry executives come out to support United Way’s work in the region. Photo credit: Steve Hockstein/HarvardStudio.com / Courtesy of United Way of Northern New Jersey
Following upgrades to its Parsippany campus, Teva chose to stay in New Jersey and expand its operations by signing a long-term, 345,000-square-foot lease—the state’s largest in 2018. The lease will see the global generic drug maker move its U.S. headquarters from Pennsylvania to 400 Interpace Parkway, Parsippany, as it consolidates its operations into a more centralized location. The move is expected to bring more than 840 jobs to New Jersey while retaining some 230 existing positions. Sustainable features such as electric vehicle charging stations, white reflective roofs, HVAC upgrades and a main atrium with energy-efficient LED lighting were key to securing Teva’s re-commitment and expansion.
The winning team includes the landlord P3 Properties; tenant Teva Pharmaceuticals USA; brokers Cushman & Wakefield and JLL; architect and contractor Unispace; landlord law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP; and engineer AMA Consulting Engineers, P.C.
The four other finalists for the award were Kindred/Atlantic Health System Rehabilitation Institute; Mack-Cali Realty Corporation’s Suburban Portfolio Transformation; Ralph Lauren Nutley Campus; and Verizon Global Headquarters Campus.
For more information about the United Way Commercial Real Estate Network or to support its mission, email Theresa.Leamy@UnitedWayNNJ.org or call (973) 993-1160, x105.
United Way of Northern New Jersey CEO John Franklin; former Verizon Communications Inc. top media executive and keynote speaker Marni Walden; Senior Managing Director for CBRE and event moderator Kim Brennan; United Way Senior Vice President of Resource Development Theresa Leamy; and Founder and Partner of Normandy Real Estate Partners and United Way Spirit Award recipient Finn Wentworth attend the 19th annual United Way Commercial Real Estate Network Legacy Luncheon. Photo credit: Steve Hockstein/HarvardStudio.com / Courtesy of United Way of Northern New Jersey
MORRIS COUNTY — The Seeing Eye staff takes great pride in providing a home-cooked meal for the students who travel to the Morristown campus to live and train with their new Seeing Eye dogs each month. In fact, the dining experience is an important aspect of our training program as staff are invited to be seated each day at lunch, in advance of the students, who then gain experience navigating through a bustling dining room with their new dog.
For years, staff, students and visitors have remarked at the quality of the meals and suggested that a Seeing Eye cookbook would be a valuable addition to their kitchen. Finally, in 2014, a group of Seeing Eye graduates organized a committee to make this cookbook a reality.
Pawsitively Delicious Recipes from The Seeing Eye contains over 100 recipes, most from our kitchen and several “tried and true” favorites from staff members. The recipes were then tested by 27 volunteers across the country. All of the proceeds from the sale of the cookbook will directly benefit The Seeing Eye mission.
Click here to purchase the spiral bound book for $15.00 or Click here to purchase an accessible copy for screen readers and Braille displays for $8.00.
MORRIS COUNTY — Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey, one of the state’s longest-serving nonprofits for adults who are blind or visually impaired, is seeking volunteers to help at its ‘Beyond Sight’ picnic on Saturday, June 1.
The event, a celebration of the 76-year-old nonprofit’s past, present and future, will be held rain or shine at Vision Loss Alliance’s Denville location, 155 Morris Avenue, Denville, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
People who are blind or visually impaired and their families and friends are invited to the picnic, which is free of charge, to connect with others and learn about all that Vision Loss Alliance has to offer.
Two CCTVs will be raffled off. RSVP to reunion@vlanj.org or call Karen Galluzzi, manager of Finance & Administration, at (973) 627-0055, Ext. 1340.
Volunteers are needed to help with cooking, registration/greeting guests, setup, cleanup, and to serve as sighted guides.Training will be provided. Please contact Director of Development Jennifer Gavenas at 973-627-0055 Ext. 1323 or Jgavenas@vlanj.org to help.
HANOVER TOWNSHIP — Wegmans Food Markets announced that the Wegmans Employee Scholarship Program will award college tuition assistance to 1,755 new recipients for the upcoming academic year. The company expects to pay out approximately $5.1 million in tuition assistance to both new and returning scholarship recipients during the 2019-2020 school year.
Alexander Bonadeo, Cameron Boyle, Nicholas Brucato, Jessica Brunner, Brandon Buse, Sarah Cotreau, Ivan Deleon, Ciana Leal, Kevin Lin, Carolin Mincey, Elyse Oravits, Cody Ruth, Sandy Sundeep Tempelman and Matt Zuckerman were the employees selected from the Hanover store.
Since the program began in 1984, more than 38,500 Wegmans employees have been awarded scholarships totaling $120 million.
“We are so proud and grateful for our employees,” says Colleen Wegman, president & CEO of the family supermarket chain. “Our scholarship program is a way for us to help our people achieve their goals and pursue their dreams, whether that means building a career at Wegmans or elsewhere. It’s also a way for us to invest in the communities where we have stores.”
Customers are invited to join in a celebration for this year’s scholarship recipients, and all 2019 graduates, at all Wegmans stores on Saturday, May 18, at 11:00 a.m. Celebration cake will be served.
Part-time employee scholarship recipients are eligible to receive up to $1,500 per year for four years (a maximum of $6,000), and full-time employees can receive up to $2,200 per year for four years (up to $8,800 total). No limit is placed on the number of scholarships awarded each year and no restrictions are made on a student’s course of study. Recipients may choose any area of study from an accredited college and enter any field they desire upon graduation. Many scholarship winners, however, decide to stay with Wegmans after college, continuing their career growth within the company.
To receive a scholarship, Wegmans employees must meet work-performance criteria. Eligibility is also based on a minimum number of work hours over a specified time period.
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 99-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family company, recognized as an industry leader and innovator, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for 22 consecutive years, ranking #3 in 2019. The company was also ranked #1 for corporate reputation among the 100 most visible companies, according to the 2019 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient® study.
MORRIS COUNTY — New Jersey State Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco proposed life-saving legislation based upon Responsible School Violence Prevention, Preparation and Protection, a program developed in 2018 by Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon in collaboration with the Morris County Police Chiefs Association.
Assemblyman Bucco’s bill, A-5242, was announced at a news conference at the Morris County Office of Emergency Management in Parsippany, with Sheriff Gannon, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Morris County Police Chiefs Association President, Butler Police Chief Ciro Chimento, and other law enforcement, education and mental health professional stakeholders present.
Recognizing the priority of keeping schools safe from violence and thwarting potential bloodshed in the pre-attack stage, the proposed legislation would mandate funding the necessary costs for scientifically-sound training for law enforcement, mental health professionals, teachers and other school staff and students to identify, assess and report behaviors that signal potential threats to school safety.
The legislation would fund a pilot RSVP-3 program specifically in the counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic and Union and first class cities of Newark and Jersey City – all part of a designated federal Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) zone.
Array of law enforcement, Morris County freeholders and mental health professionals and OEM professionals at today’s press conference. Sheriff James M. Gannon, in uniform, is next to state Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco
“This effort here is a multidisciplinary approach to incidences of school violence,” Sheriff Gannon said.
“We all know that our most vulnerable populations are in our schools,” he said. “They’re our children, they’re our grandchildren. They’re students. They’re paraprofessionals. They’re administrators and educators. They are people who keep the lights on in the schools and they’re all near and dear to our hearts.”
Assemblyman Bucco, who co-authored legislation to allow Class III officers in schools, with his father, state Senator Tony Bucco, said: “This bill, this RSVP-3 bill, will hopefully enable us to prevent an incident from actually occurring.”
Referring to a study the United States Secret Service conducted of 28 mass incidents in which at least three people were harmed, Assemblyman Bucco said:
“There are commonalities in the attackers and patterns that take place that drive the logic behind this RSVP legislation. Seventy-nine percent of the attackers made alarming comments before the attacks. Half of the attackers were motivated by overwhelming job, school or family issues,” Assemblyman Bucco said.
“More than half of the attackers had criminal, mental health or substance abuse histories. This legislation is our next logical step,” Assemblyman Bucco said.
“I’d like to thank Sheriff Gannon for bringing this to our attention and working with me on this. If we can get funding in place to get as many people trained under this program we can achieve our ultimate goal and stop the next attack before it gets started,” he said.
Prosecutor Knapp called the RSVP-3 program “pioneering.”
“It’s proactive as opposed to reactive,” Prosecutor Knapp said.
RSVP-3 was developed in Morris County in response to the February 14, 2018, killings of 17 students and staff at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. With the focus on averting violence before tactical teams had to rush to schools, Sheriff Gannon and the Morris County Police Chiefs Association drew together mental health leaders, educators and law enforcement professionals.
The Morris County Board of Freeholders and UASI then each contributed $75,000, which was used to fund curriculum, authored by Sigma Threat Management Associates, on how school leaders, mental health experts and police should assess, evaluate and respond to threats to school safety. An author of the curriculum, Dr. Marisa Randazzo, in November 2018 trained 75 leaders on how to develop assessment and evaluation tools that differentiate, for example, between a child who draws a picture of a gun at school and a student whose grades are slipping and exhibits anti-social behavior or makes concerning comments.
Dr. Randazzo and Dr. Melissa Reeves, the past president of the National Association of School Psychologists and former Chairman of the NASP National School Safety and Crisis Response Committee, are scheduled to return to Morris County next week to train about 40 teachers and school staff in how to scientifically assess concerning behavior to determine whether school safety may be at risk.
Morris County Director of Law and Public Safety Scott DiGiralomo
Morris County Department of Law and Public Safety Director Scott DiGiralomo said police have plenty of trained officers and tactical equipment to respond to violence in schools should it erupt. But, he said, a plan for assessing behavior before it reaches a lethal level was missing before RSVP-3. Training, he said, typically focused on “after the fact scenarios.”
“The part that was missing from our model is how do we prevent it. And RSVP-3 really fills that gap,” Director DiGiralomo said. “If we prevent that incident from ever happening, we don’t have to implement all those other things we’ve trained with.”
“We really feel that the targeted violence incident with the best outcome is one that never happened. And RSVP-3 gives us that opportunity to prevent that,” Director DiGiralomo said.
Ciro Chimento, the Police Chiefs Association President, said of the proposed legislation: “When the worst-case scenario plays out within Morris County, the best kicks in from its local police departments. Officers throughout the county are the best trained within the state and the RSVP program will certainly elevate our law enforcement officers to an even higher standard.”
Morris County Director of the Division of Community and Behavioral Health Services Laurie Becker said RSVP-3 would further strengthen a solid base of mental health and intervention programs in place.
“Averting potential tragedy is what it’s all about,” Director Becker said.
Steve Forte, Superintendent of the Denville School District, said of the legislation: “The fact that everybody is involved in this, that everybody is taking it seriously, that we’ve moved past the ‘it can’t happen here,’ I think is a great, great step.”
Former Denville Police Chief Christopher Wagner, a past president of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, praised Assemblyman Bucco for being at the forefront of school safety issues and the partnerships between law enforcement, schools and mental health leaders.
“Shortly after 9-11 we in law enforcement talked about how we couldn’t work in silos anymore. And school security, school threat assessment, is certainly no different than that,” Wagner said.
“We have spent tens of thousands, if not millions of dollars, on training and equipment in the horrible chance we might have to respond to one of these events. It’s my hope that we can attend some training and hold training for much less money and never touch those tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and never have to use bleeding control and never have to reunify kids,” Wagner said.
MORRIS COUNTY — Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New Jersey and Rockland County, New York is proud to announce that the revered Morris County company of ERA Gallo & DeCroce Realtors, owned and operated by Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce and the late Assembly Leader Alex DeCroce, has affiliated with the company.
“Gallo & DeCroce has been an independent agency proudly serving this region for decades. We knew we eventually needed to change the structure of the company, and we felt that aligning with Coldwell Banker NRT, an established brand that has been serving the Morris County community for a long time, would allow us to continue the level of service we have always provided people in this area, “ said BettyLou DeCroce. “I’m happy to announce that we will remain in Morris County and continue to serve Morris, Sussex, Essex and Passaic counties, specializing in Parsippany-Troy Hill Township, where the company started 40 years ago. I’m also proud to announce that Paul Johannesen, the Broker of Record for Gallo & DeCroce, will continue the legacy of our agency through the Gallo & DeCroce Team at Coldwell Banker.”
The Gallo & DeCroce Team already has begun serving their residential real estate clients based out of the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage office located at Route 46 and Crane Road in Mountain Lakes. The office is managed by branch vice president John Barr. The Parsippany building where Gallo & DeCroce operated from its very beginning continues to be owned by BettyLou DeCroce.
“BettyLou has a long history of serving Morris County communities, both as a real estate agent helping clients to achieve their dreams of homeownership and as a public official. I am excited to invite her and the agents of ERA Gallo & DeCroce Realtors to Coldwell Banker,” said Hal Maxwell, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New Jersey and Rockland County, New York. “This team’s residential expertise and strong local network, now backed by Coldwell Banker, will allow them to continue their exceptional service and strengthen our position in housing markets throughout the Morris County area.”
Gallo & DeCroce has always seized opportunities to expand its footprint and was one of the first agencies to become part of ERA, which is a sister company to Coldwell Banker NRT under parent company Realogy. This lends consistency to the Gallo & DeCroce Team affiliation.
“I am certainly comfortable with Gallo & DeCroce’s continued affiliation with the Realogy family of companies,” said BettyLou DeCroce.
Gallo & DeCroce was formed in 1970 when Dean Gallo and Alex DeCroce assumed control of a real estate business started in 1940 by Gallo’s father. The two men continued to operate the real estate agency out of the same Parsippany building where it remained until this year, as they embarked on lengthy and significant political careers that lead them into key New Jersey leadership positions.
Dean Gallo had served on the Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Council and the Board of Morris County Chosen Freeholders before being elected in 1975 to the General Assembly, initially serving the 24th District until it was redrawn and became the 26th District in 1981. He continued to win re-election to the Assembly until 1985, when he joined the U.S. House of Representatives, NJ-11. He served in Congress until his death in 1994. Alex DeCroce, a former Morris County freeholder who became an Assemblyman in the state’s 26th Legislative District in 1989, ascended to become Republican minority leader in 2003 and was New Jersey’s longest-serving Assembly member when he died in 2012.
BettyLou DeCroce became a partner at Gallo & DeCroce upon Gallo’s death in 1994 and she became president after her husband’s passing. She also was elected to serve in her husband’s 26th District Assembly seat, and she has been re-elected repeatedly to retain the seat since 2012.
BettyLou DeCroce also is president of ABL Holding Company, LLC, a home consulting and investment company. With Alex DeCroce and Paul Johannesen, she also was a partner in ABP Construction in Morris County. Betty Lou has been honored as one of the 50 Best Women in Business by NJBIZ and was a NJ Monthly Magazine finalist for Leading Woman Entrepreneur and Business Owner. She was also chosen to participate in The Emerging Leaders Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business Administration.
“BettyLou DeCroce and her Gallo & DeCroce Team of agents headed by broker and salesperson Paul Johannesen exudes a passion for real estate and dedication to their clients which perfectly align with the standard of excellence upheld by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage,” said Barr, of the Mountain Lakes office. “We are looking forward to watching The Gallo & DeCroce Team expand their existing business in new and strategic ways.”
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is not affiliated with any political party or the BettyLou DeCroce campaign.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New Jersey and Rockland County, New York, a leading residential real estate brokerage company, operates approximately 50 offices with nearly 3,700 affiliated agents. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is part of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company in sales volume. For more information, click here.
PARSIPPANY — Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that New Jersey and a coalition of 43 other States have filed a lawsuit accusing twenty generic drug companies of conspiring to artificially inflate the prices of over one hundred generic drugs, in violation of federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws.
Filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, the complaint also names sixteen individual defendants – drug company executives responsible for sales, marketing, pricing and operations – and outlines their alleged involvement in “one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States.”
The complaint alleges that the collusive activity peaked between July 2013 and January 2015, when one of the participants in the alleged conspiracy, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., is alleged to have significantly raised prices on about 387 formulations of 112 different generic drugs. The size of the alleged price increases varies, but a number of drugs saw their prices soar by “well over 1,000 percent.”
In October 2018, Teva Pharmaceuticals announced that Teva executives Kåre Schultz and Brendan O’Grady, alongside State of New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy, formalized Teva’s commitment to consolidate its North America Commercial business to Parsippany. As part of a global restructuring process, Teva will establish its North America headquarters in Parsippany-Troy Hills, including more than 1,000 high-wage jobs and the transfer and creation of more than 800 positions. Teva accepted an offer of 10-year, $40 million tax savings incentives from the NJ Economic Development Authority to move forward with its plan to negotiate a lease for office space in the Parsippany-Troy Hills.
More than half of the corporate defendants are based in New Jersey, and five of the individual defendants reside in the State.
“We all know that prescription drugs can be expensive. Now we know that high drug prices have been driven in part by an illegal conspiracy among generic drug companies to inflate their prices,” said Attorney General Grewal. “It is particularly troubling that so much of this unlawful conduct took place in New Jersey. I’ve said before and I’ll say again that New Jersey’s pharmaceutical industry is the envy of the world. But no New Jersey company will get a free pass when it violates the law and harms our residents, just because it is located here.”
The complaint alleges that price-fixing by the defendants has caused significant financial damage to state health plans, taxpayer-funded federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid, employer-sponsored health plans, and individual consumers who pay out-of-pocket for their generic medications.
Drugs subject to the unlawful pricing manipulations included all classes of medication, including oral antibiotics, blood thinners, cancer drugs, contraceptives, anti-inflammatory drugs, statins, anti-depressants, medications used to treat HIV, blood pressure medications, and many more.
A cornerstone of the conspiracy, the complaint alleges, was an understanding among the defendant companies that they would cooperate on pricing so each company could maintain a “fair share” of the various generic drug markets. At the same time, the companies also colluded to “significantly raise prices on as many drugs as possible.”
Knowing their actions were illegal, corporate conspirators generally chose to talk in person or by cell phone, so as not to create a written record of their conduct, the complaint asserts.
During their conversations, the defendant executives frequently used coded terms like “playing nice in the sandbox” and “responsible competitor” to describe their anti-competitive efforts and to reference the industry’s engrained culture of collusion.
The industry’s many posh trade shows, cocktail parties, dinners, conferences, golf outings and other events provided opportunities for such face-to-face discussions, the complaint notes. And when communications were reduced to writing or text messages, the defendants often “took overt and calculated steps to destroy evidence” of them.
Much of the anti-competitive conduct allegedly occurred in New Jersey, where many of the defendants are based. For example, the complaint identifies a January 2014 “industry dinner” at a steakhouse in Bridgewater, NJ, which was attended by at least thirteen high-ranking executives from over five companies.
The complaint alleges violations of the Sherman Act, a federal antitrust law, as well as violations of numerous state laws, including New Jersey’s Antitrust Act and Consumer Fraud Act.
The lawsuit seeks damages, civil penalties and actions by the court to restore competition to the generic drug market.
The lawsuit is the second stemming from a multi-state investigation led by the Connecticut Attorney General. The first lawsuit, which is still pending in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, was filed in December 2016. New Jersey joined that action, which now includes 18 corporate defendants, two individual defendants and 15 generic drugs, in early 2017.
Corporate defendants named in today’s lawsuit include the following.
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., North Wales, PA
Sandoz, Inc., Princeton
Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Canonsburg, PA
Actavis Holdco US, Inc., Parsippany
Actavis Pharma, Inc., Parsippany
Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Bridgewater
Apotex Corp., Weston, FL
Aurobindo Pharma U.S.A., Inc., Dayton
Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc., Fairfield
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc., Princeton
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc. USA, Mahwah
Greenstone LLC, North Peapack
Lannett Company, Inc., Philadelphia, PA
Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Baltimore, MD
Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc., Chestnut Ridge, NY
Pfizer, Inc., New York, NY
Taro Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Hawthorne, NY
Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC, Maple Grove, MN
Wockhardt USA, LLC, Parsippany
Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA), Inc., North Pennington
Individual defendants named in the complaint include:
Ara Aprahamian, Bardonia, NY. (Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A, Inc.)
David Berthold, Towaco, NJ. (Vice President of Sales at Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
James Brown, Littleton, CO. (Vice President of Sales at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
Maureen Cavanaugh, Hatboro, PA. (former Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, North America, for Teva)
Marc Falkin, former Vice President, Westin, FL (Marketing, Pricing and Contracts at Actavis)
James Grauso, Ramsey, NJ. (former Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations for Aurobindo from December 2011 through January 2014. Since February 2014, Grauso has been employed as the Executive Vice President, N.A. Commercial Operations at Glenmark)
Kevin Green, Chalfont, PA. (former Director of National Accounts at Teva from January 2006 through October 2013. Since November 2013, Green has worked at Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc. as the Vice President of Sales)
Armando Kellum, Huntington Valley, PA. (former Vice President, Contracting and Business Analytics at Sandoz)
Jill Nailor, Mundelein, IL., (Senior Director of Sales and National Accounts at Greenstone)
James Nesta, Huntersville, NC (Vice President of Sales at Mylan)
Kon Ostaficiuk, Mendham, NJ (President of Camber Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
Nisha Patel, Collegeville, PA (former Director of Strategic Customer Marketing and later, Director of National Accounts at Teva.)
David Rekenthaler, Marietta, GA (former Vice President, Sales US Generics at Teva)
Richard Rogerson, Flemington, NJ (former Executive Director of Pricing and Business Analytics at Actavis)
Tracy Sullivan DiValerio, Marlton, NJ (Director of National Accounts at Lannett)
Assistant Attorney General Brian F. McDonough and Deputy Attorneys General Robert Holup and Christopher Kozik, of the Division of Law’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group, handled the Teva matter on behalf of the State.
PARSIPPANY — The Parsippany High School Lady RedHawks won the Mayor’s Trophy against Parsippany Hills 5-4, on Saturday, May 11. The team has two more regular season games this week before opening up the state tournament at home on Thursday.
PARSIPPANY — Join the Parsippany Education Foundation and our presenting sponsor, Doyle Alliance for a day of fun on the links at Knoll West Country Club. Contests and prizes all day including the chance to win a luxury automobile from Trend Motors of Rockaway in our Hole in One Challenge.
Registration is open for the annual Tom Ladas Memorial Golf classic to be held at the Knoll Country Club West on Tuesday, May 14 starting at 11:30 a.m. Individual registration includes green fees & cart, locker room, premium gift bag, contests, on course beverages, lunch and dinner with a donation of $175.00. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place scramble teams, Ladies’ & Men’s Longest Drive, Ladies’ & Men’s Straightest Drive, Ladies’ & Men’s Closest to the Pin Putting Green Contest and the Hole in One Prize of a 2019 Luxury Automobile Sponsored by Trend Motors. Individual and foursome registration forms are available at pef4kids.com and sponsorships are still available.
The Parsippany Educational Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization established in 1996 to enrich the opportunities and experiences of students in the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District. The Foundation has contributed over $350,000 to the district raised through private donors, its annual spring golf outing and events held through the year. Its Board of Directors consists of volunteers committed to developing a community of learners. For more information, the Foundation may be reached by clicking here or emailing pef4kids@aol.com.
PARSIPPANY — Czar Alexei Sepe, a Lake Parsippany native and a rising junior at Boston College studying political science and history, was recently awarded the Omar A. Aggad Travel and Research Fellowship by the Boston College Islamic Civilizations and Societies department and the Office of International Programs, for his project proposal, “The Politics and Culture of Christianity in Lebanon.” He will be traveling to Beirut, Lebanon over the summer to complete a six-week intensive language acquisition and cultural immersion program at the Lebanese American University (LAU).
The Omar A. Aggad Fellowship seeks to “to inspire BC graduate and undergraduate students to expand their understandings of the Arab world, and of the relationships between Arab societies and the West.” Fellows in the past have gone to Doha, Qatar, Cairo, Egypt, Israel and Palestine, and Barcelona, Spain to study pressing political and social issues in the Arab world.
The Islamic Civilizations and Societies (ICS) department at Boston College is “an interdisciplinary program for undergraduates interested in the breadth and depth of the Islamic World,” that prepares students for “careers in diplomacy, journalism, international business, government, social service, think tanks and policymaking as well as graduate academic or other professional study.” If you want to learn more about the ICS department at Boston College by clicking here.
PARSIPPANY — Springfield College Senior Aarin Feliz earned the Springfield College Physical Education and Health Education Department’s Distinguished Senior Award. Aaron is a graduate of Parsippany High School, Class of 2015.
Feliz received the honor at the recent Springfield College Academic Awards held on campus. The Distinguished Senior Awards are presented annually to graduating students who have performed consistently well in the classroom. The award recipients are chosen by their respective peers in their individual department.
Springfield College is an independent, nonprofit, coeducational institution founded in 1885. Nearly 5,000 students, including 2,500 full-time undergraduate students, study at its main campus in Springfield, Mass., and at its regional campuses across the country.
Springfield College inspires students through the guiding principles of its Humanics philosophy – educating in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service to others.
PARSIPPANY — Sagar Patel, a B.S. student in Life Sciences,has been inducted into the Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society at New York Institute of Technology. Only students who achieve a GPA of 3.5 or higher during their first year qualify for membership. Patel graduated Parsippany High Hills School, Class of 2018.
Phi Eta Sigma is the oldest and largest honor society in the United States for first-year college students. Since the society’s founding in 1923, more than a million scholars have been inducted, including more than 2,000 at NYIT. There are currently 378 Phi Eta Sigma chapters across the United States.
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in more than 50 fields of study, including computer science, data, and cybersecurity; biology and biomedical studies; architecture and design; engineering; health professions and medicine; IT and digital technologies; management; communications and marketing; education and counseling; and energy and sustainability. A nonprofit, independent, private, and nonsectarian institute of higher education, NYIT welcomes more than 9,000 students worldwide. The university has campuses in New York City (Manhattan) and Long Island (Old Westbury), New York; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as programs around the world.
NYIT embraces its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, give all qualified students access to opportunity, and support research and scholarship that benefit the larger world. More than 100,000 NYIT alumni comprise an engaged network of doers, makers, and innovators prepared to change the world, solve 21st-century challenges, and reinvent the future. For more information click here.
MORRIS COUNTY — Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that medical doctor Paul J. Mathieu and physical therapy doctor Hatem Behiry were each found guilty of participating in a $30 million scheme to defraud Medicare and the New York State Medicaid Program. The defendants were convicted following a six-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said “These corrupt doctors betrayed their medical training, their professions, and their Medicare and Medicaid billing privileges. They chose not to heal, but to harm, the taxpaying public – the real victims of this scheme.”
According to the evidence presented during the trial and statements made in related court filings and proceedings:
Between 2007 and 2013, Mathieu fraudulently posed as the owner of three of six medical clinics in Brooklyn (the “Clinics”), which were all in fact owned by co-conspirator Alexksandr Burman. During that time period, the Clinics fraudulently billed Medicare and Medicaid approximately $30 million for medical services and supplies that were medically unnecessary and/or not provided. Throughout this time period, Mathieu fraudulently posed as the owner of three of those clinics, in order to satisfy a New York State law requirement that medical clinics must be owned and operated by a medical professional.
For the last three-and-a-half years of the scheme, Mathieu also directly participated in the fraudulent billing practices of the Clinics, by visiting several of the Clinics on a weekly basis, where he would sign stacks of false and fraudulent medical charts, and issue referrals for expensive additional testing, occupational therapy, and physical therapy, including for physical therapy purportedly provided by defendant Behiry. During this time period, Mathieu saw no patients at all, simply falsifying enormous stacks of phony medical records falsely stating that he had seen and treated such patients.
Behiry similarly participated in the fraudulent billing practices of the Clinics, by pretending to provide physical therapy to many of those same patients, most of whom were receiving cash kickbacks for coming to the Clinics. In fact, Behiry was engaged in an empty charade designed to create the appearance of physical therapy, while almost no therapy was actually being provided to many patients. To further the fraud, Behiry also prepared and oversaw the preparation of a huge quantity of phony medical and billing records. Among other things, Behiry completed thousands of fabricated reports, in which patients were described almost identically, and with little or no regard for actual medical conditions or needs. As with Mathieu, many of the charts were for patients whom Behiry and his team had not evaluated or provided therapy to at all.
In addition to his role in the Clinics, Mathieu also wrote unneeded prescriptions for adult diapers and other incontinence products, which were filled at Universal Supply Depot, a medical supply company also owned by Burman’s wife. Mathieu was so prolific in this regard that, throughout the period of the fraud, he was regularly a top prescriber of adult diapers in the State of New York. Mathieu continued to write such prescriptions, even after the Clinics were closed down because Medicare stopped paying any of the clinics’ claims.
Mathieu and Behiry bring to fifteen the number of defendants convicted in this and related cases. The other defendants include: Aleksandr Burman, 57, the leader of the scheme, who was sentenced in a related case on May 8, 2017, to 120 months in prison; Marina Burman, 56, the former wife of Aleksandr Burman and the owner of Universal Supply Depot, was sentenced on May 17, 2018, to 36 months in prison; Mustak Y. Vaid, 45, a physician, was sentenced on August 1, 2018, to 18 months in prison; Ewald J. Antoine, 68, a physician, was sentenced on August 21, 2018, to 18 months in prison; Asher Oleg Kataev, 50, a Burman business partner, was sentenced on May 31, 2018, to 36 months in prison; Alla Tsirlin, 49, a Clinic office manager, was sentenced on June 5, 2018, to a year and a day in prison; and Edward Miselevich, 46, and Ivan Voychak, 39, Burman partners who jointly ran a related ambulette company, were sentenced on June 12, 2018, and July 19, 2018, respectively, to 36 months in prison each. In addition, Lina Zhitnik, 52, and Dina Cabana Rubenstein, 39, occupational therapists, Valery Volsky, 60, a bookkeeper, Olga Kharuk, 47, and Natalya Grabovskaya, 48, office managers, have each also pled guilty for their participation in this scheme and are awaiting sentencing.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Raymond Lewis, Stephen J. Ritchin, and Timothy V. Capozzi are in charge of the prosecution.
PARSIPPANY — Kaushik (Casey) Parikh was named Treasurer of Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany effective May 1. Casey is filling an unexpired term of Connie Keller, which ends September 30, 2019.
The members of the nominating committee, also nominated Casey to continue for the term of October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020.
For more information on Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, click here.
Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany Secretary pins a “past treasurer” pin on outgoing Treasurer Connie Keller
PARSIPPANY —Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Jay Webber requiring companies to inform users of online security breaches was signed into law.
Webber’s measure (S52/A3245) protects consumers by expanding a list of breaches requiring notification to include more online-oriented, but no less important, information, such as user names, email addresses, and any identifying information that can be used with a password or security question to access an online account. Driver’s license and social security numbers, account numbers, and credit or debit card numbers were already included.
“Digital security breaches can result in financial loss or identity theft for innocent victims just as much as breaches concerning traditional tools of identity theft,” said Webber (R-Morris). “Customers should be informed of any breach that threatens their online accounts as soon as it is discovered to allow them to change passwords and monitor accounts for fraudulent activity. Online customers rightfully expect their personal and financial data to be protected, and this new law will help meet that expectation.”
More than five billion records were exposed by breaches in 2018, according to a report released in February by security intelligence vendor Risk Based Security.
Recently, Marriott announced that more than a half million customer accounts were exposed to hackers. Last year, customer data was compromised at Uber, Facebook, Dunkin’ Donuts, British Airwaves and T-Mobile.
The largest online breach occurred in 2013-2014, when the accounts of three billion Yahoo users were jeopardized.
DENVILLE — Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon Immediately deployed the highly-trained, tactical Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT), the K-9 Section and Bomb Unit upon learning the Morris County School of Technology went into lockdown mode at 7:35 a.m. Friday, May 10, based upon what police believed at the time was a credible threat of violence targeting the Denville-based school.
Denville Police Capt. Jeff Tucker addressing the media. He is flanked on the left by Morris County School of Technology Superintendent Scott Moffitt and on the right by Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon
Denville Police at 7:35 a.m. Friday received information reporting that an act of violence was going to occur at the School of Technology, and almost simultaneously, the school itself received similar information from a second source.
As both staff and students were arriving on campus for the school day, an immediate decision to ensure the safety of the students, staff and campus was made and the school was placed on lockdown. Students and faculty on site initiated lockdown procedures by securing themselves in classrooms. All arriving students and faculty were turned away to return to their sending districts, home or to a supervised staging area to await further instructions from the school.
Sheriff Gannon immediately responded to the school on Route 53 and Morris County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Mark Spitzer, who oversees the Bureau of Law Enforcement, went to the area designated for parents to gather.
The Morris County Sheriff’s Office SERT team, K-9 and Bomb Unit detectives remained on the premises while a Sheriff’s Officer assisted Denville police in conducting a room by room search that lasted more than 100 minutes before the premises were deemed to be safe.
As soon as the school was placed in lockdown, an intensive investigation into the initial reports, which originated on the Snapchat social media platform, was conducted with the assistance of the Butler Police Department and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities determined that a current threat did not exist at the Morris County School of Technology and the search concluded around 9:20 a.m., when the lockdown was lifted. School administrators determined that school would continue for the day but students were free to leave, under parental supervision.
Standing alongside Morris County School of Technology Superintendent Scott Moffitt, Denville Police Captain Jeff Tucker, Principal Lynn Jackson, and School Resource Officer Kristian Sandman, Sheriff Gannon addressed parents and students in the school cafeteria around 10:30 a.m.
“We take these incidents extremely seriously. Our most vulnerable populations are in schools. They’re our students. They’re our grandchildren. They’re our children. They’re professionals, paraprofessionals, teachers, all the people who make it work,” Sheriff Gannon said to the students and parents.
The Sheriff praised the response of the school district and the Denville Police Department to what was treated as a credible threat to the lives of students and faculty at the Morris County School of Technology.
“A threat came in this morning. It was deemed a credible threat by the police department. An unknown actor and the time of it was around 7:35 a.m., which was consistent with students arriving at the school. There was no other decision to make than the decision that was made. And everyone stands by that,” Sheriff Gannon said.
Sheriff Gannon, in collaboration with the Morris County Chiefs of Police Association, Morris County school districts, and mental health professionals, in 2018 founded the RSVP-3 program, which stands for Responsible School Violence Prevention, Preparation, Protection.
RSVP-3’s components include tactical training for police departments so they are fully prepared to enter schools in the event of violence and developing a system of assessing threats so that none fall through the cracks. The federal Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and the Morris County Board of Freeholders have contributed $75,000 each to the RSVP-3 program.
lso responding to the incident at the school were the Denville Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Denville Volunteer Fire Department Rescue Task Force, Denville Township Office of Emergency Management, New Jersey State Police, Parsippany Police Department and the Montville Township Police Department.
After reading Democratic Council Vice-President Janice McCarthy’s recent letter to the editor (“The Financial Harm the 2019 Budget Causes,” April 26, 2019), one thing is very clear- the Parsippany Democrats know they screwed up and now they are desperately seeking someone to blame.
Mayor Michael Soriano and the Democrats on Council again put forward a budget this year that proposed a big tax increase on local residents. Last year it was about a 6% increase and this year taxes were slated to rise 4.7% – each well above the statewide average.
Luckily, the three Republicans on Township Council said “NO” and did their best to reduce the tax hit on residents by reducing the size of government. The Republicans also rightfully called out Mayor Soriano for crying poor in his budget, but still finding the money to hire his former political staff to patronage jobs in town hall that they are vastly under qualified to do.
The election this year in Parsippany means a lot. If Democrats win, there will be nobody to stop Soriano from raising taxes every year and then spending our hard-earned money pursuing the same liberal fantasies that Governor Murphy does in Trenton. The choice is clear: Vote dePierro, Carifi, Jr. and Gragnani for Council.
DENVILLE — The Morris County School of Technology is lockdown this morning as police investigated a shooting threat.
Parsippany Police issued the following statement:
Morris County Vocational Technical School (Denville Campus) implemented a Lockdown this morning. Parsippany students being transported on buses were rerouted to Parsippany Hills HS and are safely there. Those students who are shared time will either remain at PHHS or be transported to PHS for the remainder of their classes today. Parsippany Police are assisting with security at our district schools.
While the Denville Police Department conducts their investigation, will have an increased Police presence at area schools. The increased presence is strictly precautionary and no threats have been made towards any school in the district.
At the same time, Parsippany Hills High School was on lockdown.
In response to a perceived student threat at Parsippany Hills High School, the school implemented a lockdown. The situation has been secured and Parsippany Police are handling the matter. The lockdown has ended and students and staff have returned to regular instruction. A student sustained minor injuries during the lockdown and is being treated by EMT. The injuries the student sustained were caused when the student attempted to exit through a first floor window and cut himself.
Dear Editor: