Police say a 52-year-old New Brunswick, N.J., man is responsible for five acts of vandalism against stores on Jewish stores on Raritan Avenue in Highland Park. (Photo: CBS 2)
HIGHLAND PARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – Police have made an arrest in vandalism spree that left a Middlesex County community on edge.
Richard M. Green, 52, of New Brunswick was charged with five counts of criminal mischief after police said he smashed window after window among nearly half a dozen Jewish stores along Raritan Avenue on Wednesday morning.
Avi Reiss’ store was one that was hit.
“I think it’s a sick crime,” Reiss told CBS 2’s Christine Sloan. “Somebody out there has a problem, okay? And they don’t know how to deal with their aggression.”
Down the street at the Judaica Gallery the window still stands but it’s shattered. Repairs were made to the front of the hardware store across the street, but it was a long morning for the owner.
“Just threw a top of a toilet through the window,” David Krul said.
The prosecutor’s office said it’s investigating the broken glass crimes as bias-related incidents.
“I can’t really answer that one, but based on what’s going around, maybe,” Krul said when asked what he thought the motivation might be.
The Anti-Defamation League has condemned the vandalism.
The ongoing investigation will try to determine if Green is responsible for other acts of criminal mischief that have occurred in the past several days.
Police said the shops were closed at the time and there were no injuries. The cost of the damage was not immediately available.
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5 Comments
I was right all along. They are finally admitting that he is Jewish.
http://njjewishnews.com/article/statewide/prosecutors-jewish-man-targeted-jewish-shops#.Tt_JXbLfU04
December 7, 2011 at 3:33 pm
MCR wrote: from others media
Rabbi Rosenberg’s comments are accurate. According to many sources, mysteriously not being reported by the media, the person under arrest is a Jewish man who has a history of mental health problems. One of the store owners told me he knows the man, and he even shopped in his store regularly.
December 4, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Not a hate crime A mentally challenged soul Who needs help Mr. Green is a poor Jewish male with a long history of mental illness. his serious mental illness are not made public. He needs help and perhaps there is a mental institution where he can get help. This is the second day that the media intentionally or unintentionally misinform people by omitting critical facts from the story.
Unfortunately, now that he has gone ahead and committed crimes and shown himself to be unstable and destructive, he will be in the “system” for significant time. RABBI DR. BERNHARD ROSENBERG
December 2, 2011 at 6:41 am
Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site like a hotel, public house and other various locations. Events range from box-lunch drop-off to full-service catering. Caterers and their staff are part of the food service industry.When most people refer to a “caterer”, they are referring to an event caterer who serves food with waiting staff at dining tables or sets up a self-serve buffet.The event caterer staff are not responsible for preparing the food but often help set up the dining area. This service is typically provided at banquets, conventions, and weddings.
December 2, 2011 at 1:50 am
The DEA have been stealing drugs from evidence lockup and reselling them. It has become a popular way in the Department of Justice’s DEA to make extra money.
They also steal from suspects for which they have created fabricated or coerced heresay evidence.
With some of the DEA suffering under mountains of credit card debt they have started to think outside the box.
December 1, 2011 at 8:12 am