Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show on Monday:

⬛ Attorney General: NJ fire chief handcuffed and groped men

🚨 Former Ocean County volunteer fire chief and police officer charged with criminal sexual contact and official misconduct.
🔥 Investigators say Robert Sinnott handcuffed young firefighters under the guise of “training” before forcing sexual contact.
👮 SWAT officers arrested Sinnott in Florida; he faces extradition back to New Jersey.

A former longtime Ocean County volunteer fire chief and local police officer is now facing criminal charges, after accusations that he repeatedly tricked and groped young co-workers.

Robert M. Sinnott, Jr., served in various roles at Silverton Volunteer Fire Company in Toms River, including chief.

He also spent at least two decades as a police officer, leaving the Island Heights Police Department in 2021.

Sinnott has been charged with four counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and second-degree official misconduct, after state investigators examined some of the claims made in a lawsuit filed earlier this year by three men.

⬛ Parents blocked from Linda McMahon visit at Colts Neck school

✅ Parents say Colts Neck schools violated their own new “Parental Bill of Rights”
✅ They were blocked from a BOE meeting before the "History Rocks" presentation
✅Parents were unable to review the presentation's contents beforehand

COLTS NECK — Less than a month after the Board of Education approved its "Parental Bill of Rights" — a key feature of conservative school board campaigns — the board seems to have violated its own policy during a visit by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

McMahon was at Cedar Drive Middle School on Friday morning as the third stop on the U.S. Department of Education's "History Rocks" initiative. It is part of the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, dedicated to "renewing patriotism, strengthening civic knowledge, and advancing a shared understanding of America’s founding principles in schools across the nation" in anticipation of the country's 250th anniversary in 2026.

MS NOW was first to report that parents who were told they could attend the "History Rocks" event if they came to a Board of Education meeting at 7:45 a.m. were turned away.

Parent and former BOE member Allison Denoya said a Colts Neck police officer told her that no one was allowed in the building. No reason was offered. There were also people outside the school protesting McMahon, according to Denoya.

⬛ Rutgers rejects postseason bowl invitation

With an offseason retooling already underway, Rutgers has declined an invitation to play in the Birmingham Bowl, according to multiple reports.

After a devastating loss to Penn State to end the regular season, the Scarlet Knights did not qualify for a bowl game.

However, the college bowl season was thrown into chaos when several teams rejected bowl invitation. Those teams include Notre Dame, Kansas State, Iowa State, Auburn and Florida State.

With those rejections, Rutgers was offered a chance to continue their season.

The Scarlet Knights defense was horrible all year, and Head Coach Greg Schiano had already fired multiple defensive assistants.

When you combine that with the number of players who have announced intention to leave Rutgers for another program, it makes sense for Rutgers not to opt to continue their season with a bowl game.

Had they accepted, they would have faced Georgia Southern Dec. 29.

Rutgers was not the only team to reject the invitation. Auburn, Baylor, Kansas, UCF, Baylor and Temple also declined. Ultimately, Appalachian State accepted.

⬛ Three dead in turnpike accident

A tractor trailer plowed into a vehicle parked on the shoulder of the New Jersey Turnpike on Sunday leaving three people, including a juvenile, dead.

State Police say Elin Waithe, 44, of Bloomfield, had pulled his SUV over and parked on the right shoulder near mile marker 64.4 in east Windsor. Waithe had gotten out of the vehicle and was standing on the side the turnpike when tragedy struck. Another adult and two juveniles remained in the vehicle.

The tractor trailer hit the SUV, killing Waithe as well as the adult in the passenger seat and a juvenile in the backseat.

Police identified the driver of the tractor trailer as Dmitriy Kara, 33, of Philadelphia. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

As of this morning, no charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing.

⬛ ICYMI: What is to become of Wonderland Pier

☑️Ocean City advances a plan that revives a hotel plan for the former Wonderland Pier
☑️Residents fear a 'high-rise' building that would the iconic boardwalk
☑️The current owner warns the deteriorating pier threatens safety and tourism

OCEAN CITY — A plan to build a hotel on the site of the former Wonderland Pier was given a second life by a City Council vote Thursday night.

The 4-3 vote authorized the city Planning Board to determine whether the area is in need of rehabilitation. It clears the way for the 2.5-acre property to be rezoned and a previously rejected 252-room hotel plan by property owner Eustace Mita to move forward. The plan preserves Wonderland's Ferris wheel and carousel.

The vote came after owner Mita and members of the Boardwalk Merchants Association expressed worry that the property would sit empty for the next five to 10 years, according to 6ABC Action News coverage of their media briefing. Four businesses have already closed, threatening Ocean City's future as a vacation destination

Since Wonderland closed in October 2024, the property has deteriorated because of its beach location and a lack of maintenance, according to Mita's attorney, Keith Davis. The property has fallen below safety and operational standards for the four businesses remaining.

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You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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