The BRICK Times Vol. 23 - No. 28
In This Week’s Edition
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Emotions Run High In Fatal Road Rage Sentencing
t wo rows occupied by the somber faces of the victims’ family and friends. Many wore or a nge sh i r t s with pictures of Sean in honor of him. Judge Palmer had already accepted Avrohom Pam’s guilty plea to reckless vehicular homicide and assault by auto on June 19, 2023. Positioned in the last two rows, supporters of the 21-yearold Pam demonstrated their solidarity in the midst of an emotionally charged courtroom. Accord i ng to t he Ocean County Prosecutor’s office, Pam, then 18, of Lakewood, was operating a 2021 Ford va n , whe n he struck the 2019 Hond a C RV d r ive n by John Arendt, Jr., 73, of Br ick Tow nship. The impact propelled Arendt’s vehicle into the northbound lane, where it collided head-on with a 2012 Ford Mustang driven by Sean Avon, also of Brick. A verbal altercation
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Photo by Stephanie Faughnan Jessica Avon, Sean Avon’s widow, sat alongside the Arendt family By Stephanie Faughnan TOMS RIVER - The air in the courtroom wa s t h ick w it h t he weight of grief as two strangers met for the first time, united by a shared tragedy that neit he r c ou ld h ave foreseen. Jessica Avon a nd John Arendt Jr. were
there to witness the sentencing of the individual responsible for Sean Avon’s death and John’s severe injuries in a 2021 motor vehicle crash. The tragedy left Jessica, now 31, a widow just three weeks af ter she a nd Sea n exchanged wedding vows.
John endured numerous injuries that kept him hospitalized for an entire month. His w ife a nd d aug hter, present with him in cou r t, at tested that he would never be the same again. Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer’s courtroom was filled to capacity, the first
(SentencingSee Page 4)
November 18, 2023
Voters Thanked For Support By Judy Smestad-Nunn BR IC K - Ne wl y elected Mayor Lisa C r a t e t h a n ke d t h e community for voting on November 7 when she decisively won a seat to which she was appointed in February when former Mayor John G. Ducey resigned to become a state superior cour t judge. At the end of the night, the final vote toll was 11,237 for Crate and 7,810 for her Republican opponent, Joh n Catalano. The County Clerk’s office has yet to certify the results. “I’m ve r y appre ciative and grateful and than kf ul that I was elected into this position, as were our four council seats that were filled also for my team,” she said. “We are absolutely look i ng for wa rd to working together to continue to make
Brick better,” she said. “I love this town - we love this town - and we are very much looking for ward to working with the community to continue to make Brick better.” Councilwoman Marianna Pontoriero said, “I want to take a moment to relate how unbelievable that it is in 2023, this election marks the first female elected to mayor in Brick, and as we sit here tonight, Mayor Crate has done something that will hopefully continue to open doors for our young women.” She also p oi nt e d out that Brick has a female major it y on cou ncil, wh ich she said speaks volumes as to the openness of the com munit y and “how we do not, as a town, look at people in any other way but who can best serve Brick, and that’s the way that (Council- See Page 5)
Capri Beauty School Reaches $640K Fraud Settlement By Alyssa Riccardi BRICK – A school for hairstyling with a campus in Brick has agreed to pay nearly $640,000 to resolve the State’s lawsuit for allegedly defrauding students and performing poor business practices. Additionally, the school agreed to surrender its licenses to operate in
New Jersey, Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. The Capri Institute of Hair Design had roughly 250 students between Brick, Paramus, Clifton, and Kenilworth, officials said. The school shut down operations in December 2021 with less than 48 hours prior notice to its
students. As a result, the Division of Consumer Affairs became aware of Capri’s shutdown after receiving a flood of complaints from students affected by the abrupt closure. A Division investigation found that the school didn’t respond to students after the closure and refused to provide
students with official transcripts or refunds, making it virtually impossible to transfer to another school. Capri briefly reopened three campuses months after the initial shutdown, however they allegedly failed to open the attached clinics as required, leaving students without the ability
to obtain the necessary clinical hours to become licensed by with the State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling (“the Board”). In addition, the school allegedly engaged in substandard business practices that financially harmed students. They also failed to provide students with Board-man-
dated books and supplies that were included in the cost of tuition. “New Jersey is committed to ensuring the pathway to success is open to all, including access to the training and education needed to achieve career goals,” Attorney General Platkin said. “Our Division of Consumer Affairs is
supporting that mission by ensuring for-profit schools deliver on their promise of a quality education that provides students a meaningful opportunity for success.” “Capri’s students paid thousands of dollars in tuition, or incurred thousands of dollars in (Capri- See Page 5)
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