1. BY JESSICA FASANO
THE OCEAN STAR
POINT PLEASANT — At the bor-
ough’s council meeting on
Tuesday, March 3, Mayor
Robert Sabosik appointed
William Dikun as the town’s
new Office of Emergency Man-
agement [OEM]
coordinator.
Mr. Dikun
will be filling
the position for-
merly held by
Gary Colberg,
who resigned
last month.
Mr. Colberg
was paid an an-
nual salary of
$3,500 for his
duties as OEM coordinator.
According to Mayor Sabosik,
Mr. Dikun was offered the same
salary, but decided he would
give the money back to the
town. The mayor said he great-
ly appreciated Mr. Dikun’s gen-
erosity to the people of Point
Pleasant by giving back his
salary.
“The leadership of our emer-
gency management is a key
component for the well being
of this town,” Mayor Sabosik
said before appointing Mr.
Dikun to the role.
BY JESSICA FASANO
THE OCEAN STAR
BAY HEAD — A pig was in atten-
dance at the borough council meet-
ing, here, on Monday night.
Due to resident Sal Santangelo’s
interest in owning a Juliana pig, one
made an appearance at the meeting
so council members and fellow res-
idents could use the pig as a refer-
ence.
Mr. Santangelo has recently ap-
pealed to the council for a possible
alteration to the current municipal
code, which states certain animals
are considered pets while others are
not. He would like the code to be al-
tered to allow pigs to be owned as
pets in the Borough of Bay Head.
Currently, borough code states no
resident of Bay Head can “have,
keep, raise or maintain any cattle,
horses, swine, sheep, goats, poultry,
pigeons or other animals or pets
which constitute a nuisance within
the described limits of the bor-
ough.”
Mr. Santangelo said since his
mother is allergic to cats and dogs,
he “just wanted a pet my family can
enjoy.”
At the last council meeting on
Feb. 9, Councilwoman Jennifer
Barnes-Gambert said in light of Mr.
Santangelo’s request, she would like
LAVALLETTE STUDENTS JUMP FOR HEARTS
Raise thousands for American Heart Association PAGE 2
BAY HEAD S LAVALLETTE S MANTOLOKING S POINT PLEASANT S POINT PLEASANT BEACH
75 CENTSFRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
Fire levels Beach home
A pig walks into a council meeting …
New OEM
head
named
Man burned over 40-50
percent of his body is
critical but stable
SEE FIRE PAGE 13
BY PAIGE TAYLOR
THE OCEAN STAR
POINT PLEASANT BEACH — The 47-
year-old man injured in a fire that
leveled his Cooks Lane home,
here, early Monday morning, was
in “critical but stable condition” as
of yesterday, according to Ocean
County Prosecutor’s Office
spokesman Al Della Fave.
The fire allegedly resulted from
a gas explosion and left the resi-
dent with burns over 40-50 per-
cent of his body, according to the
prosecutor’s office.
Mr. Della Fave said the incident
WILLIAM
DIKUN
RYAN MAYER THE OCEAN STAR [ABOVE] | COURTESY OF EUGENE BABBINI [BELOW]
A fire leveled a home on Cooks Lane early Monday morning after a natural gas leak. A resident was injured in
the blaze and was in critical but stable condition yesterday, according to authorities.
SPOTLIGHT ON JULIANA PIGS
General appearance
Small, colorfully spotted pig
Lean, longer than it is tall, athletic in
appearance
Size
Between 30-50 pounds
13-15 inches in height
Color
Base color can be silver, white, red,
rust, black or cream
Always spotted; spots usually black,
can be red or white
Information courtesy of the Juliana Pig
Association & Registry
Closing
arguments
presented
JAMES HABEL TRIAL
RECENT TESTIMONY HABEL TRIAL
Thursday, Feb. 26
Testimony on software stricken from record
Defense calls certified public accountant
Tuesday, March 3
Accountant’s testimony continues
Habel waives right to testify, defense rests
For the full stories
Log on to starnewsgroup.com
SEE PROSECUTION PAGE 20
SEE DEFENSE PAGE 21
BY JESSICA FASANO
THE OCEAN STAR
FREEHOLD — Closing arguments in the
state’s case versus former superintendent
James F. Habel — accused of bilking over
$350,000 from the Wall School District —
were heard, here, Wednesday.
The defense presented its argument first,
followed by the prosecution [see related
story, below].
Mr. Habel, 58, of Florida, formerly a Point
Pleasant resident, was indicted in 2013 on
multiple charges, including second-degree
official misconduct, second-degree theft by
Defense: Give Habel
benefit of the doubt
Prosecution: Habel
only served himself
BY PAIGE TAYLOR
THE OCEAN STAR
FREEHOLD — The prosecution in the case
against James F. Habel — the former Wall
Township superintendent accused of de-
frauding the school district of hundreds of
thousands of dollars — gave its closing ar-
gument Wednesday afternoon.
The defense’s closing argument was
made Wednesday morning [see related sto-
ry, above].
Mr. Habel is represented by Robert Ho-
necker Jr., of the Red Bank-based firm
Ansell, Grimm & Aaron. Melanie Falco and
John Loughrey are the Monmouth County
Prosecutors handling the case.
Following the end of Mr. Honecker’s clos-
ing argument yesterday morning and an af-
ternoon lunch break, Ms. Falco conducted a
closing argument on behalf of the state.
At the beginning and end of her argu-
ment, which spanned approximately two
hours, she reiterated the notion that Mr. Ha-
bel stole money, destroyed documents and
lied to people around him in order to bene-
fit from his own agenda.
“He’s a public servant who came to serve
only one person — himself,” Ms. Falco said.
The prosecutor said the former superin-
tendent nearly got away with his crimes,
which were driven by his “overwhelming
greed.”
Ms. Falco discussed Mr. Habel’s employ-
ment contract first, arguing that despite all
the benefits Mr. Habel enjoyed — a
JESSICA FASANO THE OCEAN STAR
A Juliana pig was present at the council meeting Monday night to act
as a reference during resident Sal Santangelo’s presentation on
allowing the pigs to be considered as household pets in Bay Head.
No, really. A pig walked
into the Bay Head
Council meeting.
SEE PIG PAGE 4
William Dikun
takes position as
coordinator
SEE OEM PAGE 22

2. occurred at approximately
1:40 a.m. Monday. The Point
Pleasant Beach Police and
Fire Departments were dis-
patched to the structure fire
at 307 rear Cooks Lane.
Upon first responders’ ar-
rival, the burn victim was lo-
cated outside the residence,
alert and conscious.
According to Mr. Della
Fave, the victim had recog-
nized a gas odor in the early
hours of the morning. When
he went to the bathroom to
turn on the light switch, Mr.
Della Fave said, the entire
house ignited in flames.
The victim was transport-
ed to Jersey Shore University
Medical Center, Neptune,
and was subsequently trans-
ferred to the Burn Center at
Saint Barnabas, Livingston.
New Jersey Natural Gas
responded and secured the
gas meter at the Cooks Lane
home, and the fire was extin-
guished by the fire depart-
ment without incident Mon-
day morning, according to
the prosecutor’s office.
Point Pleasant Beach Fire
Chief John Pasola, who was
the first arriving officer on
the scene, said the home was
fully engulfed in flames
when he arrived.
A number of fire depart-
ments, including Point Pleas-
ant Beach and borough,
South Wall Fire-Rescue Rap-
id Intervention Team, Brielle
and Bay Head also respond-
ed to the fire, according to
Chief Pasola.
He said it took around 45
minutes to put the bulk of
the fire out, and extensive
“overhaul and various hot
spots throughout the struc-
ture” were subsequently ad-
dressed.
“All the fire crews did an
outstanding job based on the
weather conditions,” Chief
Pasola said.
Mr. Della Fave confirmed
that the Ocean County Pros-
ecutor’s Office Arson Unit,
Ocean County Fire Marshall
and Ocean County Sheriff’s
Department Crime Scene In-
vestigation also responded to
conduct an investigation as
to the origin and cause of the
leak leading to the explosion.
New Jersey Natural Gas
conducted an investigation,
and found no damage to its
systems.
“We did [a] pressure test
of our system, and found no
damage to our system,”
spokesman Michael Kinney
said. “Whatever the issue is,
it appears to be on the cus-
tomer’s side of the meter.”
According to Mr. Della
Fave, the certificate of occu-
pancy on the house was ex-
pired, and a summons would
likely be issued.
Point Pleasant Beach offi-
cials could not be reached
for further comment by
press time.
According to Ocean Coun-
ty tax records, the property
is owned by Audrey Lynch.
She could not be reached for
comment by press time.
OFFICIALS: BE CAREFUL
IF GAS LEAK SUSPECTED
When an odor of gas is de-
tected, Mr. Della Fave said,
avoid touching “anything
that can spark or cause a
flame,” such as a light switch.
The Ocean County Prose-
cutor’s Office natural gas can
be dangerous and volatile,
and provided the following
advice from New Jersey Nat-
ural Gas regarding potential
gas leaks.
Since natural gas has no
scent, a strong odorant that
smells like rotten eggs is
added to help individuals de-
tect possible leaks. Anyone
who smells natural gas
should do the following.
Remove any cigarettes or
other smoking materials
from the area, and then ex-
tinguish them.
Do not use matches,
lighters or other open flames
or activate light switches,
electrical appliances, flash-
lights, doorbells or even
garage door openers, as they
could create a spark.
Do not use telephones
[cellular included] on the
premises where the leak is
suspected. Phones can create
a spark.
Evacuate everyone from
the building immediately and
call New Jersey Natural Gas
from a safe location at 800-
GAS-LEAK [800-427-5325].
Do not re-enter the build-
ing until New Jersey Natural
Gas has declared it to be safe.
New Jersey Natural Gas in-
vestigates suspected natural
gas leaks as a free service 24
hours a day, seven days a
week.
Paige Taylor covers Point Pleasant
Beach for The Ocean Star. She can be
reached at ptaylor@theoceanstar.com
or 732-899-7606 Ext 14.
WWW.STARNEWSGROUP.COM FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015 THE OCEAN STAR PAGE 13POINT PLEASANT BEACH
Explosion levels home on Cooks Lane, one person injured
FIRE
FROM PAGE 1
JESSICA FASANO THE OCEAN STAR
Officials surveyed the damage after a fire leveled a Cooks Lane home early Monday morning.
JESSICA FASANO THE OCEAN STAR
A fire leveled a Cooks Lane house in Point Pleasant Beach early
Monday.

3. WWW.STARNEWSGROUP.COMPAGE 20 THE OCEAN STAR FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015 POINT PLEASANT
THE OCEAN STAR
The Michael Stacy Memo-
rial Scholarship Foundation
is pleased to announce that
its first annual “Friday Night
Out” dinner will be held May
8 at The Crystal Point Yacht
Club on River Road in Point
Pleasant.
The dinner and gift auc-
tion will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Previously, the foundation
has held an annual golf out-
ing for the past five years,
but has decided to host a dif-
ferent event this year to be
accessible to a broader base
of the community.
This annual event benefits
a scholarship fund dedicated
in the memory of Michael
Stacy, who was the crew
chief of the Point Pleasant
High School Competition
Band from 2007 until his
death in 2010. Mr. Stacy was
an exceptional man, kind-
hearted, hardworking and al-
ways willing to go the extra
mile for anyone.
Mr. Stacy supported his
daughter as well as all of the
students in the Point Pleas-
ant High School Competition
Band and performing arts
programs, and volunteered
as his son’s baseball coach.
He devoted much time and
effort to the programs all in
the spirit of giving.
The Michael Stacy Memo-
rial Scholarship Foundation
was created in his name as a
501[c]3 charitable organiza-
tion to support the students
in the Point Pleasant Bor-
ough High School Competi-
tion Band program that ex-
hibit the generosity of spirit
that Mr. Stacy always
showed.
Each year a scholarship is
awarded to an instrumental-
ist and, or a color guard
member in the competition
band who is a graduating
senior pursuing further aca-
demic education. This stu-
dent will be selected for
demonstrating the special
spirit and leadership quali-
ties that are reminiscent of
Mr. Stacy’s commitment to
the program.
In the past five years, the
success of the golf outings
and dinners have enabled the
fund to provide scholarships
to many Point Pleasant Bor-
ough High School graduating
seniors, as well as provide
some needed equipment for
the competition band pro-
gram.
This dinner event is the
primary 2015 fundraiser to
support the scholarship fund.
It is anticipated that the
event will continue to pro-
vide scholarships and funds
to support the students and
the program.
The dinner will include
live entertainment, fundrais-
ing games and a gift auction.
There will be Gold Level
[$500], Silver Level [$250]
and Bronze Level [$100]
sponsorships available to
support the event and pro-
vide for student scholar-
ships.
Local sponsors of the past
five golf outings included
OceanFirst Bank, The Blue
Claws, Spano’s, Forte Restau-
rant, Salon Topaz, Klotze’s,
Hickory Hog, The Train
Room, Turning Point, Bone-
fish Grill, Beaver Dam Hard-
ware, Clean Cut Lawn Care,
Shrimp Box, Target, Broad-
way Bar & Grill, Jersey
Mike’s, Joe Leone’s, Guis-
seppe’s Pizzeria, Special-T-
Graphics, Jamis Upholstery,
TravelSmiths and many oth-
ers.
The Michael Stacy Memo-
rial Scholarship Foundation
appreciates the support of
businesses and encourages
local residents to support
them as much as possible to
strengthen the circle of com-
munity involvement. The
foundation also appreciates
the generosity of numerous
local families, corporate and
individual sponsors who
have supported the event.
For reservations, sponsor-
ship levels or more informa-
tion, call Meaghan Stacy at
732-597-3433 or Bill Stacy at
732-718-9260; or visit the
foundation’s website for a
reservation/sponsor form at
www.msmemorial.com.
To donate a gift for the gift
auction, contact Michelle
Stacy at 732-773-3033 or
m3n1stacy@gmail.com; or
Robin Berquist at 609-937-
5525 or rodocoam@aol.com.
Contributions directly to
the fund can also be sent to:
“Michael Stacy Memorial
Scholarship Foundation Inc.”
c/o Marianne Grant, 358 Bri-
ar Road, Point Pleasant.
Scholarship foundation to
host its first benefit dinner
Dinner will be held
May 8 at Crystal Point
Yacht Club
district-owned car, 30 vaca-
tion days per year and more
— it was still not enough for
the former superintendent.
She also argued the board
of education was made up of
people who were Mr. Ha-
bel’s “friends” during his
tenure with the Wall Town-
ship School District. Ms. Fal-
co’s argument hearkened
back to the testimony of sev-
eral former board members,
who stated under oath they
had voted to approve Mr.
Habel’s contract without
reading it. Those same for-
mer board members also tes-
tified that they had devel-
oped personal friendships
with the superintendent.
Ms. Falco said Mr. Habel
had cashed out 186 more
days than he was entitled to,
and did not accurately re-
port personal use of his dis-
trict-owned car. Further-
more, she argued Mr. Habel
did not return the correct
equipment to the district
when he was required to do
so.
Ms. Falco said during Mr.
Habel’s “last act as superin-
tendent,” he was expected to
return various pieces of
technological equipment.
Instead, he “tried to pull a
fast one” by submitting older
items, such as a Blackberry
instead of a Droid phone,
she said. Ms. Falco argued
that this act was a testament
to Mr. Habel’s overall char-
acter.
“What he did with the
equipment sums up who he
is,” she said, adding that he
“had to play games [and]
manipulate.”
In her closing argument,
Ms. Falco discussed the
charges lodged against Mr.
Habel. She talked about the
official misconduct charge,
saying Mr. Habel’s cashing
out of vacation days he was
not owed falls into the cate-
gory of official misconduct.
She reiterated the testimo-
ny of former employees who
said Mr. Habel did not show
up for work, and told the
jury she saw a pattern to
those days — they revolved
around extending weekends
and school holidays.
Ms. Falco also argued Mr.
Habel’s subordinates did not
want to challenge his author-
ity, despite concerns over his
conduct.
“Not only did he deceive
the school district, but he
lied about his whereabouts,”
Ms. Falco said.
Ms. Falco then argued that
Lt. Marie Reverendo of the
Financial Crimes and Public
Corruption Bureau within
the Monmouth County Pros-
ecutor’s Office “painstaking-
ly” uncovered Mr. Habel’s
whereabouts via EZ-Pass
and cell phone records.
She alleged Mr. Habel
once served two days of jury
duty, but took an entire week
off from school, subsequent-
ly lying to his secretary and
the board of education by
claiming he had been serv-
ing on jury duty for the full
week.
That incident alone, she
argued, made Mr. Habel
guilty of official misconduct.
Ms. Falco also discussed
Mr. Habel’s taking of profes-
sional days while phone
records confirmed he was in
Florida.
She said during the trial,
the defense argued Mr. Ha-
bel could work from home,
but Ms. Falco questioned
why Mr. Habel would lie
about his whereabouts —
i.e., at his home in Florida —
if that were the case.
Nowhere in Mr. Habel’s
contract did it state he could
work from home, Ms. Falco
argued.
The prosecutor also ar-
gued Mr. Habel was a thor-
ough, calculated and meticu-
lous person. Ms. Falco
presented folders found in
Mr. Habel’s home during the
initial investigation by law
enforcement, which includ-
ed various calculations and
computations with payout
amounts detailed “to the last
penny,” she said.
During her closing argu-
ment, Ms. Falco also hashed
out the other charges against
Mr. Habel, such as theft by
deception and financial fa-
cilitation of criminal activity.
“The word honest and Dr.
Habel don’t belong on the
same planet,” Ms. Falco said.
“Dr. Habel never had to
answer to anyone until right
now,” she told the jury. “Find
him guilty of all the charges
against him.”
Paige Taylor covers Point Pleasant
Beach for The Ocean Star. She can be
reached at
ptaylor@theoceanstar.com or 732-
899-7606 Ext 14.
Prosecution sums up case
PROSECUTION
FROM PAGE 1
THE OCEAN STAR
Applications are now being
accepted for the Point Pleas-
ant Garden Club’s yearly $750
high school scholarship.
Each year, the Garden Club
offers one Point Pleasant
High School senior the op-
portunity to receive a schol-
arship.
The scholarship will be
awarded to a senior who is
planning to further his or her
education in either horticul-
ture, landscape design, envi-
ronmental science, botany or
another related subject.
Applications for the schol-
arship are now available in
the Point Pleasant High
School Guidance Office.
Once completed, the applica-
tion should be returned to
the guidance office by the
deadline date of March 30.
All interested applicants
are encouraged to apply. Last
year the club was able to
award two scholarships.
Garden Club
accepting
applications
Celebrate...
life’s special occasions
Let the Coast Star
help you spread
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Call 732-223-0076
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Weddings • Anniversaries
Engagements
RYAN MAYER THE OCEAN STAR
DR. SUESS & DALMATIANS
Paige Palumbo, 8, of Point Pleasant, practiced her reading skills by reading a Dr. Suess book to
Molly, a therapy dog at the Point Pleasant Borough Library.
A Prayer to the
Blessed Virgin Mary
O Most Beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, blessed
Mother of the Son of God, ImmaculateVirgin,
assist me in this, my necessity.Oh Star of the
Sea, help me and show herein you are my
Mother. O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen
of Heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you
from the bottom of my heart, to succor me in
this necessity.There are none that can with-
stand your power. Oh show me herein you
are my Mother. Oh Mary, conceived without
sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee
(three times). Sweet Mother, I place this
cause in your hands (three times), Sweet
Mother, I place this cause in your hands
(three times).
Amen.
Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days, you
must publish it and it will be granted to you.
P.V.