DAILYRECORD.

COM

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016

$1.50

The apps you really need

Busy smartphone users might find these essential. Tech Tuesday, 7A

Boys Lacrosse: The top players to watch. In SPORTS

ACQUITTED IN FATALITY,
DRIVER IS STILL GUILTY
OF DWI, JUDGE RULES

BLAZE BEGAN IN KITCHEN

MOUNT TABOR FIRE DEPARTMENT

Flames rise from a house fire on Easter Sunday at 2 Stratford

Way in the New Powder Mill section of Parsippany.

Pet cat dies in

Easter home fire
in Parsippany
No residents hurt; two firefighters
at the scene suffer minor injuries
WILLIAM WESTHOVEN
@WWESTHOVEN

BOB KARP/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Vanessa Brown and defense attorney Edward Bilinkas react last week after a jury in state Superior Court, Morristown, found
Brown not guilty of aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide in the death of Ralph Politi in East Hanover in 2012.

Vanessa Brown to face fines, license suspension

PARSIPPANY - Two firefighters were treated for

minor injuries Sunday after battling a house fire in
the New Powder Mill section of the township that
claimed the life of a pet cat.
Mount Tabor Volunteer Fire Department District 1
Chief David Hollner said the first responding units arrived on the scene just before noon, within five minutes of receiving a call about the fire from a resident
of the home. Hollner said the resident told him he had
just returned home to find fire in the kitchen.
Firefighters arrived to see both smoke and flames
coming from the house and were able to extinguish
the fire within 20 minutes, taking 35 to 40 more minSee FIRE, Page 4A

MICHAEL IZZO
@MIZZODR

MORRISTOWN - Following a not-guilty verdict last

week on felony criminal charges related to the death of
Ralph Politi Jr., Vanessa Brown was found guilty Monday in state Superior Court of driving while intoxicated, a motor vehicle offense, on May 5, 2012, when she
struck and killed Politi with her vehicle as he stood outside his pickup truck on Ridgedale Avenue in East
Hanover.
Brown was acquitted Thursday of aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide in a jury trial. That
verdict prompted the victims widow, Rosemarie Pol-

iti, to storm out of the courtroom saying, Are you kidding? Unbelievable! You people are all nuts. Dozens
of relatives and friends who had gathered for the verdict followed her out.
Brown was not present during Mondays hearing to
address separate motor vehicle offenses under traffic
statutes. Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent Ahto
contemplated several aspects of Browns case before
reaching a verdict, including what amount of time after the crash would be considered reasonable to
measure Browns blood-alcohol content.
According to testimony in the Politi trial, Browns
See GUILTY, Page 2A

PRICIER AT THE PUMP

As temps rise, so
do gasoline costs
MICHAEL L. DIAMOND
@MDIAMONDAPP

The jury has spoken (on the manslaughter charge), and the Morris County
Prosecutors Office abides by the verdict.
PROSECUTORS OFFICE STATEMENT ON LAST WEEKS VERDICT IN THE VANESSA BROWN CASE

It was hard to miss.

Kevin Gersick, a contractor from Old Bridge,
drives his van 100 miles a day and couldnt help but see
that gasoline prices had jumped 26 cents a gallon in the
past month.
See GASOLINE, Page 2A

A YEAR IN N.J. GAS PRICES

Start date

End date

Unleaded price

01/01/2015

01/31/2015

2.0538

State legislators propose $3 million

plan for lead testing in N.J. schools

02/01/2015

02/28/2015

2.0612

03/01/2015

03/31/2015

2.2199

04/01/2015

04/30/2015

2.2589

05/01/2015

05/31/2015

2.5183

Christie and previous Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat,

both declined to make full investments in the fund.
Interest in the topic precedes the Newark schools
grim findings. Elevated lead has been in New Jersey
headlines since an Asbury Park Press investigation
found that over several years, more than $50 million
for the states lead-paint protection fund was diverted
to pay routine state bills and salaries.
One of the persons who brought it to my attention
was Todd Bates (formerly) of the Asbury Park Press,
who stayed on top of it and did a great job, Sen. Ronald
Rice said.
Rice and Sen. Teresa Ruiz, both of Essex County,
along with Sweeney said their Senate Bill 2022 is a result of heightened concern about elevated levels of
lead in school drinking water.
Four out of five public water systems in New Jersey
reported some level of lead in the drinking waterdelivered to homes, businesses and schools from 2013
through 2015, a just-published Asbury Park Press investigation found.
There is no requirement that New Jersey schools
test the water for lead contamination. A few school districts have recently started to test.
Sweeney called the lead findings in Newark schools

06/01/2015

06/30/2015

2.5932

07/01/2015

07/31/2015

2.5621

08/01/2015

08/31/2015

2.3472

09/01/2015

09/30/2015

2.0709

10/01/2015

10/31/2015

1.9623

11/01/2015

11/30/2015

1.9731

12/01/2015

12/31/2015

1.9046

01/01/2016

01/31/2016

1.7712

02/01/2016

02/29/2016

1.6173

03/01/2016

1.6814

$20 million more would be available

for systems that need water filters
BOB JORDAN
@BOBJORDANAPP

TRENTON - State lawmakers want to find out which

New Jersey public schools have unsafe levels of lead in
their drinking water and spend millions to correct the
problems.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney and two other
Democrats on Monday outlined legislation that would
allocate $3 million for water testing twice a year at all
public schools and make $20 million available to install
water system filters where required.
Thirty Newark schools had their water supplies
shut off earlier this month because of elevated lead levels, amid questions about how long the problems have
persisted. The findings have invited inquiry about water purity statewide, especially where buildings, piping and fixtures are old.
The proposal could escalate a budget fight lawmakers are having with Republican Gov. Chris Christie, already reluctant to support a $10 million appropriation
for a program removing lead paint from older homes.

See LEAD, Page 2A

ADVICE .......................................... 9A
CLASSIFIED ................................... 6B
COMICS .......................................11A
OBITUARIES ................................. 4A
OPINION ....................................... 8A
SPORTS ...........................................1B
TV .................................................10A