A religious counselor in Brooklyn's ultra-orthodox Jewish community was sentenced Tuesday to 103 years in prison following his conviction in the abuse case of a girl who came to him with questions about her faith.

Nechemya Weberman was convicted in December of sustained abuse of a child and other charges. His trial put a spotlight on the insular Satmar Hasidic sect in Brooklyn and its strict rules governing clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world.

In an interview on WOBM last night, Deputy Mayor Steven Langert admitted to being a partner in a townhouse development in the Chestnut area of Lakewood.

At the end of a discussion about how much building is too much, Langert explained that he doesn't believe it is fair to tell people they can no longer build when others built in the past. 

I called in  and asked Langert whether he has  interests in any large developments. He admitted that he is a partner in a large,yet to be built development. He also went on to say that he had made it public knowledge that he is a partner of this building project.

There is just one problem. Nobody can recall Langert ever publicly acknowledging his involvement in building, let alone his involvement in acquiring the needed approvals, or zoning changes. 

Audio from last nights radio show with Akerman and Langert. Notice in part two starting at 14 minutes where  Deputy Mayor Langert admits to Being a partner in a townhouse development project that required variances. Listen to part 2 at 14:45 where Langert whispers to the DJ that he should ask me if I have any interests in any developments as well. 

Ocean County Freeholder Director John P. Kelly's daughter, an employee in the municipal tax offices, has plead guilty to stealing more than $40,000 from township taxpayers.

Dawn Marie Kelly, 30, has admitted to pocketing cash payments she handled when property owners came into the municipal complex to settle tax liens. 

The money was stolen to support her drug addiction and she could face a sentence of up to five years in jail. 

Kelly was not arrested, having admitted responsibility upon being first confronted about the missing money and she agreed to plead guilty before a grand jury could indict her. 

Once again, congratulations go to Lakewood's very own Blue Claws team. They have made the list once again as one of the top selling merchandisers of the minor league teams. 

For 11 years now they have topped the list, selling millions of dollars worth of merchandise out of the beautiful 2000+ Square foot store that they operate out of the stadium that Lakewood Township built for them with 24 million dollars of UEZ money that was allocated solely for them. 

Not only do they not pay any rent for the store, to add insult to injury they have removed the name Lakewood from most of their apparel and novelties. Most shirts and caps have the logo of the crab, and the word claws or blue claws. 

Lakewood is famous, or infamous, for many things,but the driving experience that Lakewood provides has given our town a reputation that we could do without. 

We all hear the nasty comments, see them written on the internet and videos on you tube, we even have a bumper sticker that has been printed in our honor, "pray for me, I drive in Lakewood". 

I recently got a call from Avi Solomon. He wanted to know what I thought about having a driving safety asifa (gathering).

After serving Lakewood for well over twenty years Dina's Dinettes has decided to sell their store to a Brooklyn furniture store owner. The store is called Living Quarters, an offshoot of the larger store in Brooklyn. 

There is much debate as to whether our community should welcome new businesses from outside our community, especially if we already have businesses of the same or better caliber that have served our community for years. 

Most people admit that in the end it is a free world and there is no reason to be protectionist. It is anyone's right to open a business anywhere they please. 

But what If a business with more buying power because it has a large store in Brooklyn comes into our town and proceeds to threaten their suppliers not to sell to stores in Lakewood that were already selling furniture? Should we be a part of their "celebration"? 

The owners of Living Quarters have come into Lakewood with the intention of putting existing stores out of business. Not by providing better service, quality or pricing. Simply by using their influence to stop their competition from buying furniture from companies that were always a large part of their business. 

If the leaders of our town don't have the guts to help our embattled merchants, let us join together to ignore any stores whose first goal it is to put our own friends out of business. 
Hershel Herskowitz

By: Elliot Resnick

In 2005 and 2006, Jack Abramoff’s name was all over the news – for the wrong reasons. A high-powered Capitol Hill lobbyist – and an Orthodox Jew to boot – Abramoff found himself at the center of a federal corruption investigation that ultimately landed him in jail. Among other things, Abramoff was accused of conspiracy, bribery, tax evasion, and attempting to defraud his clients of tens of millions of dollars.

Today, Abramoff is a free man. Out of prison since 2010, Abramoff today is committed to reforming the lobbying industry that he helped tarnish. In 2011, he wrote Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Corruption From America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist. The Jewish Press recently caught up with him.