Non-citizen illegally voted in NJ election—NJ Top News
Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show on Friday:
🔗 Deadly 4-truck fire shuts down NJ Turnpike near Carteret
🔥Four tractor-trailers collided near Exit 12 in Carteret early Thursday morning
🔥The trucks became fully engulfed in flames
🔥 One truck driver died in the fire
CARTERET — A chain reaction collision between four tractor-trailers on the New Jersey Turnpike sparked a fatal fire and closed the inner roadway for hours.
The crash near Exit 12 in Carteret around 3:45 a.m. stopped traffic headed north in the car lanes as the trucks became fully engulfed in flames. One of the trucks was carrying lumber and another was carrying convenience store supplies, including cans of hair spray that were sporadically igniting. Another was carrying candy.
State police said four Freightliner tractor trailers were headed north when two stopped in the right lane and one stopped in the center lane. The fourth truck hit the other three from behind causing them to burst into flames as they were pushed into each other., according to State Police spokesperson DSG Caitlin Brennan.
The driver of the fourth truck died but their identity was not disclosed following positive identification by the coroner. No other injuries were reported.
Firefighters had difficulty getting water to the fire as hoses cannot be easily run across the highway and there are no hydrants available. The fire was extinguished late Thursday morning.
🔗 They'll 'regret' it: Lawyer says NJ cop is being made a scapegoat
⚠️ A Hunterdon County grand jury indicted a Franklin Township police sgt. over his response to 911 calls.
➡️ Prosecutors say the officer delayed his response before two homicide victims were found the next day.
🔴 The officer's attorney says his client is being made a scapegoat for broader institutional failures.
A Franklin Township police officer has been indicted on charges of misconduct in his response to the scene of what turned out to be a double murder in Pittstown, carried out by a state trooper who fled and then took his own life.
Following the Hunterdon County grand jury decision, the defense attorney for the suspended officer said the prosecutor will ultimately “regret” trying the case.
He said his client, Sgt. Kevin Bollaro, is being scapegoated for previous failures at the municipal and state levels based on the victim’s requests for help.
“At the absolute very worst, Kevin Bollaro, with an unblemished record for 24 plus years, did a bad job at his job on that day. That is not a crime and they cannot make it one, no matter how much some people hate cops,” attorney Charles Sciarra said in a statement to New Jersey 101.5.
In all three 911 calls on Aug. 1,2025 women who lived in Semanchik's rural neighborhood described how gunshots and screams rang out so loudly and eerily that it moved them to call for help.
Attorneys for the Semanchik and Webb families previously pointed out that police did not bother to turn up Semanchik's driveway to check on the property that the first 911 caller had described as just "down the hill."
🔗 Denville man charged after 109 explosives found in shed
⚠️ Authorities say investigators found 109 homemade explosive devices at a Denville home.
🔴 A 37-year-old man faces charges including risking widespread injury and destructive device possession.
❓ Prosecutors say the investigation is ongoing and are not discussing the suspect's intent.
DENVILLE — Authorities are being pointedly tight-lipped after they said a massive trove of explosives was found at a Morris County home.
Joseph Rizos, 37, is charged with second-degree recklessly risking widespread injury/damage and four counts of third-degree destructive device possession. He was arrested on Wednesday morning, according to Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll.
Investigators said they found 109 vials of homemade explosives "capable of massive destruction" at a Denville home on Avondale Road. According to detectives, Rizos had set up a clandestine laboratory inside the home's shed and had been using it since sometime last year.
The 109 explosives were in a crate with handwritten labels inside, detectives said. Using the labels, investigators found 1,007 grams of TNT, 546 grams of Picric Acid, 207 grams of PETN, and 1,020 grams of RDX, the main explosive in plastic explosives like C-4.
Detectives said a search of Rizos's bedroom and basement also found sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, blasting caps, red phosphorus, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, sodium and lead azide. Several firearms were also found in the home.
On Thursday, Carroll released a vague statement that only raised more questions.
🔗 NJ leaders claimed they had a budget deal. Turns out, negotiations aren't over yet.
💰 State leaders say they have a budget deal, but negotiations are still underway just days before the June 30 deadline.
📄 Lawmakers may not receive the final budget bill until shortly before voting, leaving little time for review.
👀 New Jersey residents may not know what's in the $60+ billion spending plan until after it becomes law.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Democratic leaders declared victory this week, announcing they had reached agreement on a new state budget ahead of New Jersey's June 30 constitutional deadline.
But as it turns out, a budget deal isn't necessarily a finished budget.
Behind the scenes, negotiations are continuing on key details, according to reporting by the New Jersey Monitor and the New Jersey Globe. That leaves only days to convert a broad agreement into the hundreds of pages of legislation lawmakers must approve before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.
Legislative leaders have acknowledged that work continues on spending details and language that will make up the final appropriations bill. The New Jersey Globe reported that negotiations are continuing over spending requests from lawmakers while Gov. Sherrill has agreed to include some legislative priorities in the final package.
Even with a broad framework in place, the actual legislation has yet to be publicly released.
That means rank-and-file lawmakers—and the public—remain largely in the dark about what will ultimately be included in a spending plan expected to exceed $60 billion.
🔗 Non-citizen admits illegally voting in NJ election, renewing scrutiny of voter rolls
🗳️ A French citizen living in Ocean County admitted illegally voting in New Jersey's 2022 federal election despite not being eligible.
📋 The case has renewed questions about voter roll accuracy as Republicans cite hundreds of suspected non-citizens on New Jersey's voter rolls.
⚖️ Election officials say only eligible citizens should vote, making accurate voter registration records essential to public confidence.
A French citizen living in Ocean County has admitted to illegally voting in New Jersey's 2022 general election, a case that is fueling renewed debate over voter eligibility and the accuracy of the state's voter registration rolls.
Federal prosecutors announced that 39-year-old Eliezer Kadoch of Toms River pleaded guilty to one count of voting by an alien in a federal election. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Kadoch is a citizen of France who has never become a U.S. citizen but nonetheless cast a ballot in the November 2022 election, which included a race for the U.S. House of Representatives.
The guilty plea comes just weeks after federal prosecutors charged four other New Jersey non-citizens with illegally voting in federal elections and, in some cases, making false statements during the naturalization process. Those cases are being investigated through the U.S. Attorney's Election Integrity Task Force.
The Kadoch case does not establish how widespread ineligible registrations may be, but it does demonstrate that at least some non-citizens have successfully registered and cast ballots in New Jersey elections.
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