A board of directors has been created and has begun operating Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County Inc., which will offer rewards to the public for information leading to the arrests of suspects for a variety of crimes.
AnthonyA. Caputo, retired director of the New Brunswick Police Department, will serve as chairman and president of the new nonprofit organization, according to a May 27 announcement from Caputo and Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan.
With the creation of the volunteer board, Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County will immediately begin offering rewards for information leading to arrests.
Crime Stoppers is a nationally recognized agency dedicated to helping police solve crimes by offering cash payments to entice people to call a special phone number and anonymously provide information. In Middlesex County, a phone number, website and text messaging system have been created for the convenience of people who want to provide anonymous information about criminal activity.
The phone number is 1-800-939-9600; the website is middlesextips.com; and text messages may be sent to 274637 (CRIMES) with the keyword “midtip” followed by a message.
Kaplan said Crime Stoppers is a new way for Middlesex County residents to contact police about crimes. In the months to come, criminal cases will be publicized with offers of cash rewards to people who anonymously contact Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County with information leading to the arrests of suspects.
“Police in Middlesex County have long had a strong working relationship with our residents, whose assistance has been invaluable in preventing crime, solving crime and providing information that has led to successful prosecutions,” Kaplan said. “Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County Inc. offers a financial incentive and guarantees anonymity to those who might otherwise be reluctant to help us.”
The new board of directors voted to elect Caputo as chairman and president, while naming a vice president, secretary and treasurer to help run the organization. Members of the board will volunteer their time to consider the amounts of rewards that will be granted to anonymous callers.
In addition to Caputo, board members include: Greg Schiano, head football coach at Rutgers University; Stephen K. Jones, president and chief executive officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital; Kevin P. Donovan, vice president of worldwide surveillance for Johnson & Johnson; Adrian Hughes, general manager of the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick; Ben Cannizzaro, publisher of Greater Media Newspapers; Gerard Cappella, chief of the Dunellen Police Department and president of the Middlesex County Association of Chiefs of Police; Daniel R. DelBagno, a retired captain of the Newark Police Department; Charles Crocco, a retired regional operations manager for Citibank; and Ron Franz, a retired New Jersey State Police captain who serves as executive director of the Middlesex County 200 Club, which recognizes excellence and heroism among police officers.
The corporate members of Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County are Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Johnson & Johnson, the Hyatt Regency and Greater Media Newspapers, which publishes four weekly newspapers in Middlesex County with a combined total circulation of 101,589.
Those who call also will be given instructions on how to collect the cash rewards by using a numerical code that will be recognized by a local bank, which will pay the rewards that are approved by the board.
“Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County has been made possible through a group of corporations that have generously donated financial assistance to get this program started,” Caputo said. “We also have assembled a dedicated team of volunteers that will help run this organization. This is a great way for the community and law enforcement to work together.”
Middlesex County Freeholder Director Christopher D. Rafano commended the local Crime Stoppers organization and its efforts to keep the communities safe. “The Crime Stoppers program is a good incentive to help make our communities safer,” said Middlesex County Freeholder Ronald G. Rios, chairman of the county’s Law and Public Safety Committee. “When residents and local law enforcement agencies work together, we all win.”
For more than a year, Kaplan has been working to help organize the Crime Stoppers program for the county, first by meeting with other Crime Stoppers organizations for advice on creating the program, and then by seeking corporate members to finance the program and provide representatives for its board.
“To set up this organization in Middlesex County, we studied how Crime Stoppers works elsewhere in New Jersey, and we have learned that in some cases, people don’t want the reward money, they just want to help keep their communities and families safe,” Kaplan said .
The new organization has the support of local police departments.
Cappella said Crime Stoppers will be an important part of criminal investigations.
“We would like to thank Prosecutor Kaplan and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office for initiating a program that we feel engages the public and reaches out to the community to help us solve crimes that could otherwise go unsolved for some period of time,” the Dunellen police chief said. “We also thank the corporations that are supporting Crime Stoppers and appreciate that they recognize how important public support will be to ensure the program’s success.”
Robert J. Zullo Jr., an attorney with the law firm of Martin, Kane & Kuper of East Brunswick, prepared a certificate of incorporation, which was filed in Trenton on Oct. 22, 2010, to recognize Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County as a legal nonprofit corporation.
Its parent organization, Crime Stoppers USA, which offers advice and training to the local organizations, reported that since the program began in 1976, Crime Stoppers has been responsible for 542,624 arrests, has cleared 903,035 cases and has paid a total of $82,747,686 in rewards nationwide.
Any corporation or business wishing to be a financial sponsor to Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County may contact Lt. Christopher Penna at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745- 4102.