Category: Theft

KARISSA-ANNE FRANNICOLA OF CALDWELL CHARGED WITH STEALING $20,530 FROM NURSING HOME RESIDENT

4/30/2019

Karissa-Anne Frannicola of Caldwell charged with stealing $20,530 from nursing home residenT

by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com
Published 1pm

CALDWELL, NJ - The New Jersey Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor announced yesterday charges against Karissa-Anne Frannicola, 29, of Caldwell. Frannicola is accused of stealing about $20,530 from an elderly nursing home resident over whom she had power of attorney.

In an effort to protect elderly and disabled individuals from abuse and neglect, the office also charged three other women with residential care crimes.

The charges were determined after investigations were completed by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit which receives federal monies to investigate and prosecute Medicaid provider fraud and the abuse of Medicaid patients.

Frannicola was charged with the following over incidents which occurred between April and August of 2017:

third degree charge of theft by failure to make disposition of property received
third degree charge of misapplication of entrusted property

The other women involved in the indictment were Martha Ruiz, 25, of Camden, and Kendall Crouch, 24, of Clementon. Both women were employed as psych aides at Bancroft Neurohealth in Mt. Laurel. Bancroft Neurohealth is a facility which cares for developmentally disabled adults and children. In their case, both Ruiz and Crouch are accused of physically abusing one of the disabled residents.

According to the Prosecutor, on June 1, 2018, Ruiz and Crouch allegedly "struck the resident in the face, twisted his hand and wrist, forcefully restrained him to his bed, and forced a urine-soaked towel on his face."

Both women were charged with:

third degree conspiracy
third degree neglect of a disabled person
fourth degree endangering another person.

Additionally, Christine Sanford, 31, of Atlantic City, is accused of assuming a false identity to work as a Certified Nurse Aide at the Barnegat Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Barnegat in November 2018. The Prosecutor believes Sanford used a false identity because her own Nurse Aide certification had been revoked by the New Jersey Department of Health in 2017 after she was determined to be unqualified.

Sanford is charged with:

third degree forgery
third degree identify theft
third degree uttering of false government documents

Third-degree crimes in New Jersey carry a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $15,000; fourth-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to eighteen months in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $5,000.

People who are concerned about insurance cheating and have information about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline at 1-877-55-FRAUD, or visiting the website at www.njinsurancefraud.org. State regulations also permit a reward to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.

Sign up for Daily and Breaking News Emails

roseland police officer michael gibbons thwarts car burglaries, Dodges car attack and enables recovery of stolen car in parsippany

3/26/2019

ROSELAND POLICE OFFICER MICHAEL GIBBONS THWARTS CAR BURGLARIES, Dodges car attack
AND enables recovery of a
STOLEN CAR in Parsippany

by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com
First Published 2:20am

ROSELAND, NJ - In the early morning hours of Tuesday, Mar. 26, Roseland Police Officer Michael Gibbons alerted headquarters to two individuals he reportedly saw breaking into cars in the area of Third Avenue, Roseland. Within minutes, he escaped injury, made an arrest, and assisted with a stolen car recovered in Parsippany.

At about 2:20am, Gibbons called in two individuals he reportedly witnessed on foot breaking into cars on Third Avenue. He was able to make one arrest, while a second individual ran on foot, and another remained in a second car.

The suspect on foot is described as:

Black male
wearing all black including a black skullcap
last seen running in the area of 502 Eagle Rock Avenue, at the end of Third Avenue

The individual driving the second car, described as a white male, reportedly attempted to use his car to attack Gibbons. The officer jumped back into his patrol car, and was not injured. The police car is believed to have sustained driver-side door damage.

The car was determined by police to be a 2012 Toyota Sienna wagon, stolen out of Lakewood. The driver then sped off, followed by Gibbons who was able to follow the car as it drove onto Eisenhower Parkway, and then Route 280 West.

After reportedly driving at speeds over 100 miles-per-hour, the car exited the road at some point after Exit 1 in Parsippany, in the back-lot of an office building. At that point it's believed that the driver bailed from the car and was seen running behind the building. Gibbons secured the car, and police were able to report its recovery to Lakewood authorities.

Multiple Parsippany Police units responded at about 2:33am to the car's location, along with a K9 unit. East Hanover also responded to the Parsippany location.

Roseland Police requested mutual aid from all surrounding towns and the State Police were also notified. By about 2:30am, Roseland Police began scouting in the areas of Harrison, Eisenhower, and Eagle Rock. As of 2:45am, the Essex County Sheriff Officers, including K9, were dispatched to Third Avenue to locate the second individual.

By 3am, officers responded from Caldwell, East Hanover, Livingston, and West Caldwell and surrounded the perimeter from QuickChek to Noecker School, while the K9 unit was picking up a scent at 3:15am in the Third Avenue location.

At 3:40am, all police units were released from the Third Avenue area with the investigation continuing.

"Officer Gibbons performed an excellent job this morning," commented Roseland Police Chief Rich McDonough.
"The recovered stolen car will be used to complete the investigation and identify all individuals involved with these incidents."

This morning at 8:45am, at least one car was reported to have been confirmed broken into overnight on Glen Avenue, Roseland, near Passaic Avenue.

Additionally, a car was reported stolen overnight from Green Avenue, near Cooper. The investigation continues and any new information will be updated.

Anyone with information should contact Roseland Police:
973-226-8700

Sign up for Daily and Breaking News Emails

Tuesday's Tax Day "Mail-Fishing" Arrests in Glen Ridge Believed to be Part of Larger Essex County Crime Ring

4/22/2018

by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com
Published 9:11pm

GLEN RIDGE, NJ - Glen Ridge Police Chief Sheila E. Byron-Lagattuta announced the arrests this week of two individuals whom the Essex County Prosecutor's Office believe to be part of a larger crime ring across northern New Jersey.

Byron-Lagattuta explained that over the past year and a half, numerous Glen Ridge residents have reported mailed checks that were later found to be fraudulently deposited. The department's investigators believe that the checks were "fished-out" of local US mailboxes using household items such as shoe string, water bottles, and mouse trap glue.

On Tuesday, Apr. 17 - Tax Day - at about 2:40am, Glen Ridge Patrol Officers noticed a suspicious car near a US mailbox at the intersection of Ridgewood Avenue and Glen Ridge Parkway; a location which the department believes items were stolen from in the past.

According to the Chief, during a car search the officers found items commonly used for mailbox fishing along with "a large pile of mail stuffed under the passenger side door of the vehicle."

Officers investigated and discovered 24 pieces of mail which contained checks totaling over $116,000, the majority of which were being mailed to the IRS.

Two suspects were arrested and reportedly they later confessed to removing the mail from the mailbox.

The two were subsequently charged with:

Second Degree Theft
Second Degree Trafficking in Personal Identification Information
Fourth Degree Possession/Manufacture of Burglar’s Tools

The two individuals were transported to the Essex County Correctional Facility and their identities are not being released as the investigation is on-going.

Since Apr. 1, Glen Ridge Police have arrested a total of five suspects believed to be connected to the thefts.

Anyone with information is asked to contact:

Captain Sean Quinn
973-748-5400, ext. 113
spquinn@glenridgenj.org

Sign up for Daily and Breaking News Emails

<<Previous

Police

KARISSA-ANNE FRANNICOLA OF CALDWELL CHARGED WITH STEALING $20,530 FROM NURSING HOME RESIDENT

Karissa-Anne Frannicola of Caldwell charged with stealing $20,530 from nursing home residenT

roseland police officer michael gibbons thwarts car burglaries, Dodges car attack and enables recovery of stolen car in parsippany

ROSELAND POLICE OFFICER MICHAEL GIBBONS THWARTS CAR BURGLARIES, Dodges car attack
AND enables recovery of a
STOLEN CAR in Parsippany

Tuesday's Tax Day "Mail-Fishing" Arrests in Glen Ridge Believed to be Part of Larger Essex County Crime Ring

Archives

Categories

Police

KARISSA-ANNE FRANNICOLA OF CALDWELL CHARGED WITH STEALING $20,530 FROM NURSING HOME RESIDENT

Karissa-Anne Frannicola of Caldwell charged with stealing $20,530 from nursing home residenT

roseland police officer michael gibbons thwarts car burglaries, Dodges car attack and enables recovery of stolen car in parsippany

ROSELAND POLICE OFFICER MICHAEL GIBBONS THWARTS CAR BURGLARIES, Dodges car attack​AND enables recovery of a ​STOLEN CAR in Parsippany

Tuesday's Tax Day "Mail-Fishing" Arrests in Glen Ridge Believed to be Part of Larger Essex County Crime Ring

Archives

Categories

ROSELAND POLICE OFFICER MICHAEL GIBBONS THWARTS CAR BURGLARIES, Dodges car attack
AND enables recovery of a
STOLEN CAR in Parsippany