Lucidi allegedly helped the buyers qualify for mortgages using false information, including bogus income and asset information, fake employment information and underreported debt information.
Court's eye is on Downey's
The tax-cheating owner of Downey's Irish Pub and Restaurant was ordered yesterday to pay $945 for health inspections of his Queen Village eatery, which has been hit with a series of violations that include loose rat poison, insect activity and mice feces in the kitchen.
The order against Domenico Centofanti, who has been besieged by lawsuits, came during a hearing in Common Pleas Court over the violations. Downey's will be reinspected in 30 days, and Centofanti was ordered back in court on Sept. 13.
The pub, which will be featured on Spike TV's bar-makeover reality show on July 24, was shut down for two days after an inspection in March turned up 51 health-code violations.
Downey's, at Front and South streets, is up for sheriff sale on Aug. 2 to satisfy millions owed to Wells Fargo. That will be followed by a sale of the restaurant's assets on Aug. 12 for money owed to the city.
Tuition rising, but by less
Tuition for New Jersey students at Rutgers University will rise by only 1.8 percent next school year after the university's Board of Governors yesterday rolled back a planned increase of 3.6 percent.
The university had proposed the higher tuition for in-state students as part of a package that would have raised student costs overall by about 3 percent, but ultimately opted to reduce the increase. The administration must now find about $12 million in spending cuts to pay for the lower tuition increase.
Kiddie porn gets him 6 yrs.
Steven Baryla, 29, the former head of a faith-based military academy for children in New Jersey, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for sharing child pornography over the Internet.
Baryla, of Toms River, must also register as a sex offender under the sentence imposed yesterday. And once he's freed from prison, he will have to serve five years of supervised release.
Baryla pleaded guilty in January to transporting child pornography over the Internet. He formerly ran the Cedar Bridge Military Academy in Toms River, for children ages 11 to 17.
Accolades for A.C. boardwalk
The Atlantic City Boardwalk, America's first, is also among its best, according to National Geographic, which has named the boardwalk as one of the best in the nation. Wildwood's boardwalk also made the list.
National Geographic calls Atlantic City "the grandfather of boardwalks," adding that it anchors the seaside gambling resort. It was built in 1870.
- Staff and wire reports
