Jan. 22, 2014 Edition of The Observer

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January 22, 2014 • www.theobserver.com • Vol CXXVI, No. 35

COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD

• EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY

At last, new boss at HHA

Now superintendent faces investigation

By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent HARRISON – Some three and a half years after Michael Rodgers was fired as the chief administrator of the Harrison Housing Authority, the HHA finally has picked a new leader. The HHA Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Jan. 8 to hire Roy E. Rogers, of Sicklerville, in Camden County, as executive director and he started work Jan. 15, taking over for interim Executive Director Zinnerford Smith, who has served since December 2010. Rogers, who is a state-certified public housing manager and is certified to manage tax credit developments, will be receiving an annual salary of $100,000 with no contract and no specified time period. In its most recent posting for the job, the HHA had advertised a pay range of $80,000 to $100,000 to be negotiated and one HHA spokesman said that the commissioners placed Rogers at the top of that range in recognition of some three decades of experience in the public housing industry. Rogers spent the last 10 years as executive director of the Gloucester Township Housing Authority where he oversaw 224 housing units see HOUSING page

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Photos by Ron Leir

Frank Ferraro made his case for returning to his job as superintendent and (inset) Mayor Alberto Santos cautioned the school board against ensnaring itself in what could be a costly legal battle.

By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent KEARNY – olitical divisions within the Kearny Board of Education were further evidenced at a special meeting last Monday night over the issue of the

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superintendent’s status. He’s currently on an involuntary paid leave. A bid by the board’s minority bloc, led by Dan Esteves, to reinstate Frank Ferraro as the district’s chief administrator was rebuffed by the majority, whose

members voted to circulate a Request for Proposals for an investigator to review Ferraro’s dealings with the board since he was hired in December 2012. The majority may be looking to build a foundation for possibly firing Ferraro by bringing tenure charges

against him and, ultimately, buying out the balance of his $167,500-a-year contract which runs through June 30, 2016. see BOE page

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4 indicted in local sex trafficking case By Karen Zautyk Observer Correspondent NEWARK – Four defendants were charged last week in a 35-count indictment alleging they were part of a humantrafficking conspiracy involving a 15-year-old Essex County girl, Acting Essex County

Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced. Authorities said that, from May to August 2013, the girl “was transported from different locations in Belleville and North Bergen to various hotels and apartments where she was forced to have sex with adult men for money.” The Belleville police re-

ferred The Observer to the prosecutor’s office, but, to protect the victim, that office declined to provide details on the Belleville connection. The defendants, all of whom face conspiracy charges including promoting prostitution and money laundering, were identified as: Patricia Munoz, 23, of Jersey City;

201-991-1300 KEARNY OFFICE 213 Kearny Ave, Kearny, New Jersey

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Charles P. Torres, 59, of North Bergen; his son, Charles B. Torres, 26, of Ridgefield Park; and Victor Reyes, 38, of Union City. Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Sandler, who is handling the case, said Munoz met the teenager at a party last May. see TRAFFICKING page

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