Pair sentenced in bias incident

MANALAPAN- On April 25, Adriane Lynn Tropiano, 40, and Angela Marie DeNigris, 40, both of Manalapan, were sentenced by state Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci, Jr. for their roles in a bias intimidation incident that occurred in June and July 2007.

For her role in the offense, Tropiano was sentenced to two years of probation. A condition of her probation is that she perform 100 hours of community service, according to a press release from theMonmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

DeNigris was admitted into the Pre- Trial Intervention Program.Acondition of her acceptance into that program is that she perform 50 hours of community service.

Tropiano and DeNigris were both also ordered to have no contact with the victims in this case.

Tropiano and DeNigris had previously pled guilty on Feb. 11 to one count of fourth-degree bias intimidation. During their guilty pleas, both Tropiano and DeNigris admitted to intentionally harassing the victims with the purpose to intimidate based on race. Those guilty pleas were entered before Mellaci.

Although fourth degree bias intimidation carries with it a maximum potential custodial sentence of up to 18 months, under New Jersey law there is a strong statutory presumption for most third- and fourth-degree crimes that a defendant who has not been previously convicted of a crime receive a noncustodial sentence, according to the press release.

The charges against Tropiano and DeNigris were the result of an investigation into a series of threats that were made against a Manalapan couple. The couple had received several threatening and racially derogatory telephone calls in June and July 2007.

The couple owned a second house, also in Manalapan, which they had rented out to a minority family. Although these telephone calls were made anonymously, the investigation revealed that a security camera at a local supermarket had captured Tropiano and DeNigris on videotape making two of the calls from a pay telephone. Each of these two phone calls that Tropiano and DeNigris were videotaped placing included threats of vandalism and arson against the homeowners in retaliation for their actions in renting their house to a minority family.

This case was jointly investigated by the Bias Crime and Community Relations Unit of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Manalapan Police Department.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said, "AllMonmouth County residents should be able to live their lives free from such fear and intimidation. The quick apprehension and prosecution of Tropiano and DeNigris is indicative of the commitment that the Monmouth County law enforcement community has to protecting its residents from such criminal activity."