7/23/2019 Asbury Park Press front page Friday, Dec. 11 2015

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RUTGERS SHAKE-UPNew football coach fires 7 assistants; university could be on hook for $2.6 million. SPORTS, 1C

LAKEWOOD - Call it a Hanukkah miracle.A large inflatable bear — holding a dreidel in itspaws and stationed outside a downtown electronicsstore — seemed to have suffered a fatal collapse, inan apparent act of vandalism Wednesday night.

The incident, captured on video by the store’s sur-veillance camera, shows an unknown person making arunning leap into the bear’s lap, then dashing off to-ward Clifton Avenue, leaving the deflated balloonfigure in a glowing puddle.

But thanks to some CPR, a bit of emergency stitch-ing and plenty of duct tape, the smiling bear looked asgood as new Thursday.

“We did surgery. We brought it back to life,” re-ported Esther Leifer, the owner of DB Electronics, a

STAFF PHOTO/SHANNON MULLEN

A day after being damaged and deflated by an unknownassailant, an inflatable Hanukkah bear was back outside thenew home of DB Electronics in Lakewood.

Vandals can’tdeflate spirit of Hanukkah bear

See BEAR, Page 7A

SHANNON MULLEN @MULLENAPP

MARLBORO - The Route 67 bus was on itsway to its local stop Monday morningwhen riders felt something was wrong.

A young man sat on the bus holding aclock. He seemed nervous, especially

when he dropped it, riders told police.Someone called New Jersey Transit, who called in

Marlboro police to investigate. A bomb squad and K-9unit rolled in as officers shut down both sides of Route9, where the bus sat on the shoulder.

The man didn’t have a bomb, Marlboro Capt. FredReck said. The clock was just a clock. Yet the falsealarm comes amid a heightened alert against terroristattacks after the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Cali-fornia, and the attacks in Paris.

“Given the state of things, they ended up contactingNJ Transit,” Marlboro Capt. Fred Reck said.

Statewide, public tension about a terror attack is pal-pable, a new poll found. The Rutgers-Eagleton poll

found eight in 10 respondents fear another terrorist at-tack is imminent in the United States. Seven in 10 worryit will happen in or near New Jersey.

In some cases, that heightened fear has translated

STATE OF INSECURITY

Amid recent heightened terrorism fears,

bomb scare shuts down Route 9 in Marlboro

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

A heavily armed New York City police officer with the Strategic Response Group stands guard at the armed forcesrecruiting center in New York’s Times Square on Nov. 14.

STEPH SOLIS @ STEPHMSOLIS

AND KAREN YI @KAREN_YI

See SCARE, Page 6A

ASBURY PARK PRESS APP.COM $1.00

FRIDAY 12.11.15

VOLUME 136

NUMBER 296

SINCE 1879

ADVICE JERSEY ALIVE

CLASSIFIED 4D

COMICS JERSEY ALIVE

LOCAL 3A

MOVIES JERSEY ALIVE

OBITUARIES 13A

OPINION 16A

SPORTS 1C

WEATHER 3C

YOUR MONEY 12A

International revulsionagainst Donald Trump has

taken aim at his wallet. 1B

TOMS RIVER - An alleged bogus business deal mayhave prompted a contract killing in a shuttered Jackson

restaurant, leading to the indictment Thursday of thesuspected hitman, the man accused of hiring him and aJackson police officer charged with trying to thwartthe investigation, according to court documents.

The indictment accuses Daniele G. RomeodiSantillo,27, of Manalapan, of stealing more than $75,000 fromPeyman Sanadaji and then hiring Hector Calderon tomurder him. The indictment accuses Calderon, 48, ofFreehold of fulfilling the deadly contract in April.

RomeodiSantillo and Calderon face life in prisonwithout parole if they are convicted of the murder-for-hire charges.

Eric J. Prosniewski, a Jackson police officer sus-pended without pay from the force since his arrest inMay, is accused in the indictment of lying to investiga-tors to cover up RomeodiSantillo’s alleged involvementin the murder.

Sanandaji, 34, of Jackson, was found shot to deatharound 11 p.m. on April 9 inside a closed eatery, Casano-va Ristorante in Romeo’s Plaza on South New Prospect

Road in Jackson. The property was owned by Romeodi-

Cop cover-upcharged inJacksonmurder caseKATHLEEN HOPKINS @KHOPKINSAPP

See INDICT, Page 5A

70%A Rutgers-Eagleton pollfound seven in 10 worry aterrorist attack will hap-pen in or near New Jersey.

80%The same poll found eightin 10 respondents fearanother terrorist attack isimminent in the UnitedStates.

86%The percentage of NewJersey residents whoapprove of surveillanceand security checks inpublic places.