Did the punishment fit Merla's crime? Officials' opinions vary on whether 22-month sentence was enough BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer       John Merla is going to jail, but nobody seems happy about it. On Oct. 23, three years after his 2005 arrest, the former Keyport mayor was sentenced to 22 months in a federal penitentiary for accepting $23,000 in bribes from undercover FBI informants. Merla admitted to the crime in January. More ... Cell tower may be built on h.s. grounds BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer       MIDDLETOWN - Students of Middletown High School South may be asking, "Can you hear me now?," after the approval of a bid to construct a cell tower on school grounds. At the Oct. 23 Board of Education meeting, approval was given to New York SMSA Limited Partnership, representing Verizon Wireless,... More ... Ghost hunter's work is of a 'sensitive' nature TV star shares stories of paranormal experiences with Brookdale audience BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer       MIDDLETOWN - Chris Fleming has looked for ghosts in places like Alcatraz and Salem, but he finally met his match - Newark Liberty International Airport. After being stuck at the airport, Fleming arrived two hours late for his lecture Thursday night at Brookdale Community College, where more tha... More ... Lucent, taxes among top issues in Holmdel race The top issues in the race for two Holmdel Township Committee seats this year are the future of Lucent, balancing the budget, and taxes, taxes, taxes. Democrats Janet Berk and Michael Sockol will try to break the GOP's majority on the committee while Repu Karen E. Bowes       Democratic candidates Janet Berk, 56, is a former committee member (2003-05) who lost in the 2005 election by just 25 votes. The wife and mother of three is currently a nonpracticing attorney. Berk is a longtime resident and is running to "keep Holmdel as the beautiful town it was when I came h... More ... Mayor, two council seats up for grabs in Matawan BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer       Two sitting members of the local government are battling it out for the mayor's seat, and four more candidates are vying for two seats on the Matawan Borough Council. Democratic Mayor Mary Aufseeser has served in the position since January 2006. More ... Group seeks mentors for children of 9/11 victims BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer       MIDDLETOWN - Tuesday's Children, a nonprofit that provides mentors to children who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks, is looking for volunteers in the Middletown area. The group says there are currently a few families in the area who are looking to provide their children with a mentor to be a ... More ... Driver faces homicide charge for Aberdeen crash       FREEHOLD - A grand jury returned an indictment Oct. 24 charging a Belford man with second-degree vehicular homicide for a crash in Aberdeen that killed a pedestrian. The fatal crash occurred at approximately 1:50 p.m. on March 11 near the intersection of Lloyd and Nutmeg roads. More ... NJDOT advises drivers of work on Route 36       HAZLET - The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) will begin work next week to replace the Route 36 culvert over the Flat Creek and improve drainage in Hazlet and Union Beach, Monmouth County. More ... Memorial run to honor soldier       HOLMDEL - The second annual Lt. Dennis W. Zilinski II Memorial Run/Walk charity event will be held on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at 10 a.m. at the PNC Bank Arts Center. The run will be 3.5 miles and the walk will be 2 miles. For sponsorship and signup information visit www.RunWith Dennis.org. More ... Operation Bid Rig star informant gets 8 mos. Prosecutor tells judge Palughi could be called on to testify again BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer       NEWARK - As far as undercover FBI cooperating witnesses go, he was one of the best. So said the judge during the Oct. 23 sentencing of Anthony Palughi, the 71-year-old felon who once served as Monmouth County's superintendent of bridges. More ... Former mayor gets 366 days behind bars FBI says Zambrano helped take down former Sen. Lynch, others BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer       After apologizing to the residents of West Long Branch for accepting bribes to feed his gambling addiction, former Mayor Paul Zambrano, 51, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in a federal penitentiary on Oct. 23. Zambrano was arrested back in Feb. 22, 2005, during the first round of Operation... More ... From Abate to Zambrano: The FBI's recent Monmouth County corruption targets       Frank Abate, Marlboro, former executive director of the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority. Arrested Nov. 21, 2006 on an indictment for nine counts of defrauding the public of honest services, two counts of extortion under color of official right and two counts of attempted obstruction of a gra... More ... Tango: The king of all dances Teacher sees dance as entrée to a cosmopolitan milieu BY LARRY RAPPOPORT Correspondent       Fausto Bermeo knows the steps to happiness. And if you talk to him, you just might agree those steps lead right across a dance floor - more specifically, a tango dance floor. Fausto Bermeo, you see, is an authentic Argentine tango instructor who believes in the power of tango. More ... Authors find N.J.'s story in its cemeteries Area man's graveyard expertise to be featured on NJN's 'Hauntings' BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer       EAST BRUNSWICK - A cemetery can tell us more than just how people lived and died. Just what tombstones and burial grounds can tell us is what drew Mark Nonestied, of East Brunswick, to the subject. Nonestied is coauthor of "New Jersey Cemeteries and Tombstones: History in the Landscape," to be ... More ... From the Vault       Actor Herb Wolke dresses in full Abraham Lincoln garb to promote a local one-man presentation, "For the People." The photo ran in August 1985. More ...