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Subscribe to RSSTwo state troopers have been suspended over allegations they provided an “unauthorized escort” to a group of sports cars -- including one driven by football star Brandon Jacobs -- driving at high speeds in New Jersey.
The convoy of cars, including Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and others, traveled at speeds in excess of 100 mph down the Garden State Parkway to Atlantic City last month, according to The Star-Ledger newspaper. They also traveled on the New Jersey Turnpike and Atlantic City Expressway.
The paper said witnesses had made complaints to police about the caravan -- which one witness dubbed "Death Race 2012" -- saying they saw patrol cars with emergency lights flashing at the front and rear of the sports cars.
The Star-Ledger also obtained amateur video footage of a caravan of luxury cars allegedly being escorted by state police at high speed on the Garden State Parkway in 2010. It is not known which officers were involved in this convoy.
Watch video of a 2010 convoy obtained by The Star-Ledger (video contains offensive language):
A statement released late Monday by the attorney general’s office said Sgt. First Class Nadir Nassry, 47, a trooper for 25 years, and Trooper Joseph Ventrella, 28, who has six years’ service, had been suspended without pay in relation to the incident last month.
An unnamed station commander was also transferred “until any potential involvement on his part has been determined,” the statement said.
“We will not tolerate any conduct by a member of the State Police that puts the public in jeopardy, as this unauthorized caravan had the potential to do,” Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said, according to the statement. “We are thoroughly investigating this incident, and those responsible will face serious discipline."
Lt. Stephen Jones, a spokesman for the state police, said investigators would be looking to see if there were any incidents in addition to the one last month and the one in 2010.
“You better believe they are looking hard to see if there are any more; they are certainly checking that,” he told msnbc.com.
Charles Sciarra, an attorney representing Nassry, said in an email that state police officials had canceled a scheduled interview with his client and "simply suspended him without pay."
"This change of course was taken only after tabloid-like headlines appeared on the cover of Star Ledger over the last two days. The headlines scream 'Death Race 2012' when in fact these charitable organizations routinely ask and receive escorts from the State Police to and from the various charitable functions they attend with their exotic vehicles," Sciarra said. "This practice has been in effect for years."
PFT: 'We are thoroughly investigating this incident'
He added that "allegations of recklessness and speeds in the triple digits will not bear out" regarding the escort in question.
"We hope that the powers that be will take a breath, exhale and engage in a fair investigative process with which we will continue to cooperate. Either way, we will not permit Sgt. Nassry to be sacrificed to satisfy a public-relations agenda," Sciarra said.
Jacobs unaware
Jacobs’ agent, Justin Schulman, confirmed that his client, who plays for the San Francisco 49ers, went to Atlantic City on the day in question, March 30.
But, he said, "Brandon wasn't aware the escort was authorized or unauthorized."
The Star-Ledger reported that Michael Breen, a founding member of an elite New York City group of sports car enthusiasts called Driving Force Club, wrote on Facebook about a “very fun” run with Jacobs. He appeared in a photo with Jacobs, who was wearing a blue vest with a New Jersey State Police emblem, The Star-Ledger found.
The paper quoted Gov. Chris Christie as saying he “just shook my head” when he heard about the allegations.
"What are you going to do? It’s a completely ridiculous story. Shouldn’t have happened. Dumb thing to do, but let me assure you it’s not the last dumb thing we’ll see happen," Christie told a crowd at a bill-signing event in Newark.
"People are human beings," he added. "They make mistakes. Those people who made this mistake should be held accountable, and I’m sure they will. And I’m glad nobody got hurt."
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Why does MSNBC always come out with these topics as front page headlines a week after every other local media outlet. This company has become a joke.
Can't say I'm surprised at Christie's flippant attitude, saying these things are going to happen. In other words, if you have some clout, you can do anything in New Jersey and no one will be accountable.
And these are the idiots that will pull you over to "enforce" the law. NJSP, most corrupt, arrogant and self serving law enforcement agency in the state, and probably the country.
From the video, it looked liked there were a few moments where they were speeding, but 100 MPH, I don't think so.
Lee,
Read the title of the video - that video came from 2010.
They do this every year.
It's Jersey; how else do you expect authorities to act?
What's going to happen is their AG is going to do an "investigation" finding nothing was done wrong - and the public who were also traveling on the parkway at the time who come forth and counter his statements are going to be dismissed as "mistaken"....
Business as usual so far as they are concerned.
Whatever. People drive much faster without police escort in Germany, and over there slower drivers know how to stay in the right lane OUT OF THE WAY, and they don't have nearly the number of stupid accidents we have. While I don't think it was appropriate for police to jump in for this sort of showboating, I don't mind people driving quickly and never once did I see anyone except for the two screaming idiots making the video endanger anyone else on the road. For the most part they were moving along with the flow of traffic.
So you are free to go drive fast all you want in Germany and we will be fine with that. In this country we have speed laws for reasons and those who break the laws endanger others. So I guess your line of thought is that if some guy stabs me it is my fault for not getting out of the way of his knife or if he is driving recklessly over a set speed limit and he crashes into me while I am driving legally or otherwise causes loss of property or life it is my fault? I should just have gotten out of the way so perhaps just charge me with the accident in my hospital bed? Come to my child's funeral and remind me that it is my fault that I couldn't get out of the way while I was driving in a safe and legal way and some immature, thoughtless driver took my child from me?
You really didn't think that through, I hope. Driving quickly is not the same as weaving in and out of traffic and driving recklessly at an illegal rate of speed? I don't think you understand what speed limits mean in this country. In the fast lane you are supposed to be going the speed limit and in the slow lane slower. I suppose in your world you think that I should hurriedly have to dive out of your way in that fat lane so you can blow by me at 90 or 100, and if I don't get out of the way fast enough whatever happens is my fault? Yes, we have stupid accidents. They are caused by drivers under the influence, reaching for something or otherwise distracted, or not following traffic laws. It isn't whatever if your family is the one wiped out by people who drive that way.
Hey I abide by the laws in this country and I have a good driving record to prove it. All I'm commenting on is that speed itself is not necessarily a killer as much as the article makes it out to be. And no I'm not suggesting that anyone who wants to drive quickly should just plow right into someone going slower because they did not get out of the way, that would be absurd. Of course the blame should not be on the person who gets hit by someone being reckless, but the reckless person can also be the one going 45 mph who darts over into a lane full of cars going 70 without signaling. I am much more fearful of someone checking their email instead of the road at the wheel of a slow-moving minivan than I am of a big obvious group of fast sports cars coming along.
RamHead - stop being so self-righteous, law enforcement toddy. Get out of the left lane.
It is people like you that cause traffic jams, that cause the weaving in and out of the right lanes, because you are clogging up the left lane because you believe that you are the enforcer of the left lane speed limit.
You are causing more problems than you perceive in your own mind to be solving.
Joe Keg must be one of those Gomers that likes to pass everyone because he can...ride someone's ass all the way down the road even when there's nowhere to move over and everyone is going over the limit.
My favorites are the bikers...those dumbasses that give the good ones a bad name...so close on my tail they could hold onto the tailgate...one actually had the balls to get into a coworker's face after doing the same thing...until my friend reminded him of how he could make this moron's day by turning him into the new Evil Kneivel...
The wealthy get what they want and the law does not apply to officers. If they have a badge and a gun they are above all laws.
Christie would only be interested in going after the offending parties if it involved school teachers!
What's new. We remember when the previous governor, John Corzine, was involved in an accident when his New Jersey State Police Officer chauffeur crashed a state owned SUV while traveling in excess of 90 miles an hour on public roads rushing Corzine to a meeting with radio personality Don Imus.
Corzine's chauffer, Trooper Robert Rasinski, was not ticketed in that incident per police "professional courtesy".
Give ALL the driver and cops speeding citations... fair enough!
no
Nothing to see here, folks. This is just the invisible hand of the market at work. Just get used to the idea that there's one class of laws, facilities and services that the rich can pay for, and then there's what the rest of us can maybe afford if we're lucky. All aboard for the S.S. Privatization!
For some strange reason, I really don't give a F%ck what goes in New Jersey.
Me neither, and I live in New Jersey. Actually, the media overblown nonsense of a couple of troopers winding it out down the highway is no big deal. The police do it all the time, and they are particularly agressive when they are chaperoning all their buddies on motorcycles. Just the way it goes around here.
Of course they had a nice police escort... just another case of the rich and affluent getting their way once again. Has everyone noticed that things that used to be available to just about every class of people, has now become things that only the rich can do? Cripes! I just went to a matinee movie the other day. By the time it was all said and done (family of three) I had spent 85.00. All I spent money on was tickets, 1 Medium popcorn, ! box of Junior Mints, and 2 medium sodas. We had to share sodas. 85.00 is alot of money for us. What about bowling? Skiing? Going to a sporting event? The working class has been relegated to do nothing but go to work for the man, get paid from the man, spend your paycheck on things the man owns, stay home and wait to go back to work and do it all over again.
Kinda sucks they got caught... it doesn't bother me if the State Troopers escorted a bunch of super cars down the road... who cares!
who do the cops serve
So? What's the problem?
And the regular drivers in their regular cars were in the other lanes passing them.
Sezyou, I think the regular cars in the other lanes passing is the result of the lack of structure on NJ highways. Basically, no one follows the rule of keep right except to pass, and if the are attempting to pass, they never speed up and actually pass, or they just decide that the "speed limit" should be enforced, by THEM, in the left lane. It all causes the back up of traffic cause the natural flow is impeded.
What "charitable" purpose is served by a police escort for 100K plus cars? Not to mention breezing through the toll booth with your police escort which then blocks traffic to allow you right of way. Any idea how upset this makes the rest of us who couldn't even touch one of these fiberglass POS without working three or more years EXCLUSIVELY to come up with the funds? And flipping off other drivers? Yeah, that really shows how they feel about the 99% who dare to come between them and their monied friends. As a working stiff and voter, this kinda in-your-face is upseting enough when it comes from people at my financial level, it's a poke in the eye from these 1%'ers
100 mph aint nothing, I do that in my mini cooper everyday to work on my 1 hour commute. I thought they would be doing at least 160 and up. Now that would be a reason to get worked up about.
What happens is after they go by, many people get right behind them and draft right along.
Whatever. It sounds like a lot of fun. And frankly there will always be lame people complaining when those that live and grasp life do so with joy and abandon. They want to drag the rest of us down to their miserable existance.
So agree...fkkin Highway nazi's. But dont worry dont slow me sown nun...I still rip it down the highways escort or not...lol
I bet doing donuts on top of a nursing home at 2am is a lot of fun, too. Can I get a police escort for that if I'm willing to bribe them enough?
there is a time and a place for something like that (a race track) and that was not the time or place. one wrong move by a mini van full of kids and everyone is having a very bad day. fire the cops who should have known better and put innocent lives at risk.
And whose fault would the accident be? The minivan who cut off the sports car in the passing lane. I still don't see a problem with this other than the cops giving an escort.
Just what you said "one WRONG move" by a minivan, sums it up well. Why do people with SUVs and vans full of kids seem to drive more recklessly than the speeding people in sports cars? I don't see speeding sports cars piling into other people, but I've seen more than enough SUVs and minivans loaded with families pile into other people because they were all in there watching movies and messing around with foodstuffs instead of paying attention to the road. Expressways are for driving quickly and with focus. Residential neighborhoods and city streets are a different story; EVERYONE should exercise caution with speed in those areas because that is where people and other cars can easily dart out in front of you with no warning!
This is stupid....They didnt hurt anyone...crap cant even have fun anymore.
New Jersey roads are in that good a shape to actually drive 100mph on?
I'm thinking the "slow pokin' from Hoboken" fellers in the left lane (that should be in the granny lane) got ticked they had to move over.
Peace.
New Jersey... Does anything really need be said after that??
I don't see what the big deal is. I've had a high-speed police escort before, anyone can get one. Just last month, I passed a police officer at 58 MPH in a 40 zone. The polite and friendly officer escorted me to the side of the road. Of course, you have to grease their palms to get this type of preferential treatment. My police escort cost me $125.