Mayor, council honor police officers, citizens

BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

MARLBORO - Several members of the Marlboro Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office were honored for their recent actions in town.

On March 15 the Township Council and Mayor Robert Kleinberg presented Detective Sgt. Paul Reed, detectives Edward Clayton and Erik Nolte, and School Resource Officer James Ferraro of the Marlboro Police Department and Detective Sgt. Michael Meany and Detective Eric Singer of the county prosecutor's office with mayoral proclamations.

"I consider the Marlboro Police Department to be one of the finest law enforcement agencies in the state of New Jersey. Our officers have taken an oath to do everything they can to protect the people in our community and these officers have gone above and beyond the call of duty," Kleinberg said.

Reed received a mayoral proclamation for assisting an injured man on Five Points Road, Howell. On Jan. 18 a limousine struck a deer in Howell.

Reed administered oxygen and first aid to the injured driver until Howell police officers and first aid squad members arrived on the scene. Reed later visited the hospital to check on the condition of the driver.

Clayton was honored by the council and mayor for initiating an investigation into fraudulent leases generated from an Ocean County auto dealership. The investigation revealed that $528,913 in fraudulent leases were issued. The investigation resulted in the arrest of 16 individuals on theft by deception and conspiracy charges.

Singer assisted Clayton in the fraudulent lease investigation.

Nolte was honored for his work in the investigation of a jewelry store robbery. Nolte was assigned to follow up on the robbery of a jewelry store in which $1 million worth of merchandise was stolen. Nolte's investigation led to the develop-ment of suspects and arrests. In November, the first defendant in the case was sentenced to 34 years in prison.

Meany assisted Nolte in the jewelry store robbery investigation.

Ferraro recently attended the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Tools for Tolerance National Institute Against Hate Crimes and Terrorism plenary session to undergo instruction about combating hate crimes.

The mayor and council also acknowledged the actions of the senior and cadet members of the Marlboro First Aid Squad for their assistance in responding to an emergency call at the Marlboro Jewish Center on Sept. 23.

Those who received proclamations are senior members Ira Finkler, Zach Stein-feld, Brad Greenberg, Scott Present, Herb Steinberg, Andrew Greenberg and Rob Gohar. Cadet members Julia Dottrina and Brandon Beja also received mayoral proclamations.

Dr. David Brody was honored at the council meeting for his heroic actions after a car accident that happened near his office. On Nov. 21 a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on Wyncrest Road, resulting in serious injuries. The driver ran across the street to Brody's office to ask for help, according to Kleinberg.

Brody, who had an office full of patients, immediately ran outside to assist. He stood over the victim without regard for his own safety and directed oncoming traffic from hitting the injured person lying in the road, according to Kleinberg. Brody remained with the injured man until Marlboro police officers arrived on the scene.