Asbury Park Press

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THURSDAY 02.19.15

BACK WHERE SHE BELONGS

Lost pup reunited with owner after two years.

WHATS
GOING
THERE?
Burritos,
coffee
beans and
beyond
coming
to Toms
River site.
YOUR MONEY, A12

STORY, A3

ASBURY PARK PRESS FILE PHOTO

Last year alone, people grabbed nearly $900,000 in lottery

prizes they werent entitled to, a state audit found.

N.J. Lottery
pays out
winnings
to the dead

C
Prosecutors, civil rights
advocates, doctors form
group for legalization,
taxation of marijuana
KATHLEEN HOPKINS @KHOPKINSAPP
NEWARK

Audit: Agency doesnt

always authenticate IDs

Five years ago, Jon-Henry Barr

said, he never imagined he would be standing with a group of people advocating the legalization of marijuana. Barr, who described

SHANNON MULLEN @MULLENAPP

The New Jersey Lottery is paying out prizes to winners who use the Social Security numbers of dead people, a new state audit finds.
In addition, the state agency doesnt always flag the
winnings of people who owe back child support and other court-ordered debts, as the law requires.
Last year alone, such winners grabbed nearly
$900,000 in prizes they werent entitled to, the audit
found.
State Auditor Stephen M. Eells released his findings
Wednesday.
The audit comes on the heels of an Asbury Park
Press investigation published in December that found
that lottery insiders retailers who sell lottery tickets
and their relatives are the most prolific winners of
lottery prizes.
Lottery fraud experts said the Press findings were a
red flag for ticket discounting, or the resale of winning
lottery tickets, a prohibited practice believed to be
widespread across the U.S.

himself as a lifelong, fiscally conservative

Republican, said his experiences as a municipal prosecutor in Clark have changed his
mind. The war on marijuana is a government program that does not work and is not
needed, Barr said. It is time for a new approach to New Jerseys marijuana laws.
Barr, president of the New Jersey Municipal
Prosecutors Association, was one in a diverse group of people on Wednesday
See GROUP, Page A4

PRO-LEGALIZATION
$127 million a year would no longer be
spent on enforcing marijuana laws in New
Jersey.
Regulating and taxing the sale of marijuana
would generate more than $100 million in annual
revenue.
It would take the marijuana trade out of the hands of
street corner drug dealers.
About 21,000 people a year would not be exposed to
criminal records and other repercussions of being arrested for marijuana possession.

ANTI-LEGALIZATION
It would be difficult to determine if motorists are under
the influence of marijuana.
It could increase the likelihood of children being exposed to marijuana in the household and, possibly, ingesting it by mistake.
It would send a bad message to young people.

See AUDIT, Page A6

Witness: Jail guards slammed inmates head to floor

SUSANNE CERVENKA @SCERVENKA
TRENTON Monmouth County Jail officers
slammed Amit Bornsteins head into the ground,
punched and kicked him, and continued to beat him
even after he was handcuffed and shackled, an inmate
who witnessed the 2010 incident testified during a
wrongful death lawsuit proceeding.
(Bornstein) was pleading with them that he was
with them and didnt want to fight with them, said Jared Weaver, a former Matawan resident who now lives
in Florida.
They continued with force and told him to stop moving. He was wiggling around a little, but he was already

handcuffed so he couldnt hit anyone.

Bornstein, 22, of Marlboro, was dead within hours of
two altercations with jail officers. His father, Israel
Bornstein, claims the jailers used excessive force, violating his sons civil rights, and the jails medical staff
was negligent in treating him.
Weaver was the first to testify in the federal civil
lawsuit against Monmouth County, the jail, corrections
officers and Correct Care Solutions LLC, the company
contracted to provide medical care.
Weavers testimony was in opposition to opening
statements made by Andrew Bayer, the attorney representing Monmouth County. Bayer said Bornstein was
so violent the officers had no choice but to use force to

subdue him.
During cross-examination by Bayer, Weaver said his
memory of the incident was better today than it was 412
years ago because he was addicted to drugs at the time.
He acknowledged he was in the Monmouth County Jail
for burglary charges on which he was later convicted.
During questioning, Weaver had a hard time remembering the timing of the July 29, 2010, incident what
time of day it happened and how long the struggle between Bornstein and officers lasted. Weaver testified
that this was because of how long ago it occurred.
But Weaver said he was certain about what he saw:
See INMATE, Page A4

PRESIDENT SAYS NO RELIGION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR TERRORISM PAGE 3B

JAZZING UP YOUR OSCAR PARTY

LUXURY LIVING, D1

SIX FLAGS LOOKING TO HIRE 4,000

YOUR MONEY, A12

ADVICE
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
LOCAL
LUXURY LIVING

D5
E1
D4
A3
D1

OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
WEATHER
YOUR MONEY

A14
A17
C1
C8
A12

VOLUME 136
NUMBER 43

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