TIMEOFF
NEWS
A divine comedy
Holidays in Hightstown
A review of ‘An Act of God’ at George Street Playhouse. Plus: Previewing two versions of ‘A Christmas Carol.’
The Rocky Brook Garden Club helps decorate the town. Page 2A
Vol. 51, NO. 49
Published every Friday
Friday, December 8, 2017
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East Windsor man charged in child porn sting By Lea Kahn Staff Writer
An East Windsor Township man is among 79 people who were arrested on charges that ranged from child trafficking to manufacturing child pornography and possession of child pornography, according to New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino. Dhanendhran Govender, 32, of East Windsor Township, was charged with possession and dis-
tribution of child pornography as a result of “Operation Safety Net,” Porrino said last week. The nine-month-long investigation was led by the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and involved multiple agencies - including the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. The task force, which itself was led by the New Jersey State Police, targeted sex offenders who exploited the Internet and social media, Porrino said. Some of the sex offenders live in other states
and sought to have children transported across state lines to have sex with them. “The men we arrested lurked in the shadows of the Internet and social media, looking for opportunities to sexually assault young children or to view such unspeakable acts by sharing child pornography,” Porrino said. “We set up a wide safety net in this operation to snare these alleged predators and to protect children, which remains our highest priority,” he said, adding that
he wanted to thank the numerous agencies and individuals who participated in the investigation. Colonel Patrick Callahan, the Acting Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said Operation Safety Net ensured that children would not “fall victim to the acts of these depraved individuals.” The arrests of the 79 alleged sex offenders should put others on notice that law enforcement “will be relentless in our efforts to put them behind bars,” Callahan said. The only way to stop them is to
apprehend them and remove them from the public, he said. The task force investigated numerous cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and also monitored peer-to-peer file-sharing networks to identify the IP addresses of those who shared child pornography. Detectives also conducted undercover “chat” investigations on social media, leading to the arrests of men who attempted to lure children, Porrino said.
Ex-Mercer County parks chief pleads not guilty to charges By Philip Sean Curran Staff Writer
Photos by Scott Jacobs
Shining a light Aiming to shine a light on domestic violence, East Windsor Township invited residents to bring luminary kits - candles in a bag to the Municipal Building for the annual Communities of Light event on Dec. 4. The event is a key fundraiser for Womanspace, which is a nonprofit organization that provides support for women, children and men who are victims of domestic violence. In the top photo, Perry Shapiro, deputy mayor of East Windsor, and Linda Moore walk through the lit presentation.
East Windsor residents can pay tax bills online By Lea Kahn Staff Writer
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East Windsor Township property owners will be able to pay their property taxes from the comfort of their home - or wherever else they may be - using a new on-
line system, beginning next month. The new online tax payment option, which is available on the East Windsor Township website, will allow residential and commercial property owners to pay their property taxes by e-check, debit card or credit card, starting Jan. 2, 2018. Payments can be made 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are convenience fees attached to the online payments. The fee is $1.05 for e-check payments, $3.95 for VISA debit card payments and 2.95 percent for all other credit card or debit card payments. The new online system also allows property owners to have online access to the current year’s tax bill, as well as their tax account history, for the past three years. Mayor Janice Mironov said the
software program “offers a great, easy convenience” for property owners by allowing them to view the status of their tax account and the amount due, around the clock. It also expands the options available to property owners to make tax payments. “It allows residents to make payments by e-check, commonly used to pay bills, for a $1 program fee. Residents can avoid a trip to Town Hall or being dependent on mail delivery,” Mayor Mironov said. “While we always welcome residents, we expect the use of this software program will result in many fewer phone calls and visits, with a significant savings on East Windsor Township staff time,” she said. For more information, call the Tax Office at 609-443-4000, ext. 231.
Former Mercer County Park Commission executive director Kevin B. Bannon pleaded not guilty Monday to public corruption charges for which the erstwhile government employee and college basketball coach wants to go on trial. Bannon, accompanied by family and friends at Mercer County Superior Court in Trenton, did not speak during his arraignment before Judge Darlene J. Pereksta. He stood beside his lawyer, Jack Furlong, who has filed a motion asking the judge to fix a “speedy trial date.” Bannon, 60, is not interested in reaching a plea bargain, but rather wants his day in front of a jury, said Furlong. Bannon was charged, in October, in a 10-count indictment with official misconduct and related offenses stemming from his county job and a nonprofit organization that Bannon had run with his brother. The state Attorney General’s Office, which brought the case following an investigation that included raiding park commission offices last year, accused Bannon of “diverting” thousands of dollars that should have gone to the county to the nonprofit, Friends of Mercer County Parks, that had been formed to aid the Park Commission. He is the only person charged in the case, with the most serious offenses each carrying prison sentences of up to 10 years. Bannon was fired last year. The case has taken a toll him, with Bannon’s wife being “harassed” by at least one former county employee on her Facebook page, the lawyer said. Furlong said he intends to subpoena records from a law firm, Riker Danzig, the county hired to probe the Bannon matter. The firm, Furlong said, “interviewed dozens of witness. They reviewed thousands of documents. They prepped witnesses for appearance before the state grand jury. They conducted field investigation of all manner of facilities and abstracts and talked to independent contractors.” “I find it hard to digest that taxpayers of Mercer County, of which I am one, paid north of three quarters of a million dollars for legal
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Kevin Bannon
services that extended no further than some minimal advice to the county executive on how to handle this investigation by the Attorney General,” Furlong said. Julie Willmot, county spokeswoman, said by email Monday that the law firm “prepared no internal investigating involving Kevin Bannon and or the Park Commission for the county of Mercer.” Asked if the firm did any work in connection with the Bannon case, she answered: “Mercer County and the Mercer County Park Commission does not intend to comment on a pending criminal case initiated by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. Inquiries should be directed to the Attorney General.” Bannon is a former head men’s basketball coach at Trenton State, Rider and Rutgers universities. His four-year-tenure at Rutgers ended with him being fired in 2001; his teams never made the NCAA tournament and there was controversy about a now infamous nude free throw shooting contest involving players and a team manager. Finding himself in a court of law instead of on a basketball court, Bannon sat on a third-row bench, chewing gum and waiting for his case to be heard in the morning. “We can take Kevin Bannon,” the judge said after going through the morning roll call of defendants. Furlong entered the formal not guilty plea on Bannon’s behalf during an otherwise brief arraignment. Needing to be fingerprinted afterward, he left the courtroom with his supporters, including former NBA player Greg Grant, who had played in college for Bannon at Trenton State, now called the College of New Jersey. His next court date will be Jan.5.
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