TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2010
STATE NEWS
Man guilty in schoolyard killings
First of six defendants
is called toughest case
By ROHAN MASCARENHAS
THE STAR-LEDGER
Of the six defendants charged in
the Newark schoolyard slayings,
the case against Rodolfo Godinez
was the most difficult, prosecutors
say.
No evidence linked him to the
.357-caliber Colt Trooper or the
rusty machete used to kill three
college-agefriends on Aug. 4, 2007.
The lone survivor could not iden-
tify him. And at every turn in the
11-day trial, the defense raised le-
gal obstacles challenging witness-
es.
But Monday, after a jury at Es-
sex County Courthouse in Newark
found Godinez guilty on all 17
counts, prosecutors agreed the
path against the remaining defen-
dants became much clearer.
“We had a practice run for the
next trial,” said Romesh Sukhdeo,
an assistant Essex County prose-
cutor who argued the case. “We
have a pattern now.”
Jurors needed less than four
hours to convict Godinez of mur-
der, felony murder, robbery and
weapons violations.
The charges stem from a triple
Will Christie’s property tax cap help or hurt?
It depends on which study you read
By LISA FLEISHER
STATE HOUSE BUREAU
A 2.5 percent property tax cap is
either a great way to control taxes
and government spending or a
terrible idea that will widen the
gap between the rich and the
poor while tethering towns to
state aid, depending on which
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killing near Mount Vernon
School, when Iofemi Hightower,
Dashon Harvey, both 20, and Ter-
rance Aeriel, 18, were set upon,
lined against a wall and shot, exe-
cution-style.
Terrance’s sister, Natasha, now
22, was also shot but survived and
testified for the prosecution.
Roy Greenman, Godinez’s at-
torney, said he will appeal the ver-
dict after Godinez is sentenced on
July 8. Godinez faces 30 years in
prison for each murder, the terms
of which can be consecutive.
“He will never see the light of
day,” acting Essex County Prose-
cutor Robert D. Laurino said.
The five others charged in the
case — Jose Carranza, 31; Melvin
Jovel, 20; Alexander Alfaro, 19;
Shahid Baskerville, 18; and Gerar-
do Gomez, 17 — will be tried sep-
arately, with the first trial expected
to begin in the fall, Sukhdeo said.
Prosecutors say the verdict
against Godinez validates their
strategy to try each defendant sep-
arately, even though they called
the killings a group effort to initi-
ate a member into MS-13, a street
gang with Central American roots.
When detectives found Godi-
studies you consult.
The latest analysis, released
Monday by the right-leaning Man-
hattan Institute for Policy Re-
search, said a tax cap will not harm
student learning despite claims by
educators that strangling property
tax growth will lead to layoffs and
less-qualified teachers.
The institute said students in
PER MO.
36 MOS.
PER MO.
36 MOS.
MORE STATE NEWS PAGE A-4
Shalga Hightower, mother of victim Iofemi Hightower, holding a picture of her daughter as flight landed at Newark Liberty
the verdicts against Rodolfo Godinez were read Monday at the Essex County Courthouse. International Airport, authorities
nez’s DNA on a beer bottle at the Godinez made to police in which strong,” McTigue said.
crime scene, they knew they had a he boasted about being a recruiter
case, said Thomas McTigue, the for MS-13 and called the other de- Star-Ledger reporters Julie O’Con-
other assistant prosecutor who ar- fendants his “big homies.”
gued the case. The prosecution
also cited a taped statement thought our proofs were very rmascarenhas@starledger.com
Massachusetts — Governor Chris-
tie’s model for his proposed consti-
tutional cap on local property tax
increases — score the same as or
better than New Jersey students on
the U.S. Department of Educa-
tion’s National Assessment of Ed-
ucational Progress even as Massa-
chusetts schools spend about
$3,300, or 20 percent, less per
pupil.
The trend continued across
several demographics and age lev-
ASSOCIATED PRESS overnight Continental Airlines
nor, Phil Read and Steve Strunsky after she fell asleep. Two passen-
“From the beginning, we contributed to this article. E-mail:
els, the study said.
As New Jersey struggles to climb
out of the recovery, Christie wants
to replace the state’s current 4 per-
cent spending cap with a 2.5 per-
cent limit and fewer exceptions,
while giving towns more power in
negotiating with workers unions.
He’s scheduled to promote the
cap today at the Manhattan Insti-
tute. He will also speak at a town
hall event in Rutherford.
Left-leaning groups, though,
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THE RECORD A-3
Deputy mayor’s
conviction upheld
A federal judge in Newark on
Monday upheld the conviction of
a former Jersey City deputy may-
or found guilty in connection
with last year’s massive FBI sting,
dismissing her lawyer’s argument
that the federal bribery statute
does not apply to political dona-
tions.
Leona Beldini was convicted
in February of accepting $20,000
in illegal campaign contributions
in exchange for promising to help
secure development approvals.
Beldini was charged in July along
with scores of others in a corrup-
tion and money-laundering
probe.
— The Star-Ledger
Man charged in
sex assault on jet
A Berkeley Heights man was
charged in federal court in
Newark on Monday with sexual-
ly assaulting a woman who fell
asleep in the seat beside him
aboard a flight from Hong Kong
to New Jersey, authorities said.
Ramesh Advani, 63, was ar-
rested by the FBI after the
said. He was released on
$100,000 bail. Authorities say
Advani reached under the
woman’s blanket and groped her
gers behind her kicked the
woman’s seat, causing her to
awake and alert flight attendants.
— The Star-Ledger
Trial date set for
Rutgers hazing case
warn about the perils of property
tax caps. A 2008 study from the
Six Rutgers University sorority
members will go to trial June 7
Center for Budget and Policy Pri- for hazing charges or the cases
orities, a Washington, D.C., think against them will be dropped, a
tank, said overall government Municipal Court judge said Mon-
spending hardly decreased, be- day. All the women have denied
cause it was replaced by spending the charges.
in other areas. Trial was scheduled to start
Monday, but municipal Prosecu-
State House Bureau reporter Claire tor Robert Adochio said he need-
Heininger contributed to this article. ed more time to prepare the case
Lisa Fleisher is a reporter for The and notify the main witness.
Star-Ledger. — The Star-Ledger
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