Phew, we are glad to be back up and running. Below the top stories we’ve included a few links from the last few days while we were offline, but this is a bit of a reduced Roundup as we try and fix some other issues. If you want to know more about what happened, read below the links.
Prescription Probe Pleas
A Linwood pharmaceutical rep on Thursday pleaded guilty to charges related to a $28-million health-benefits fraud probe that has been the focus of intense Atlantic County gossip all summer. A gym-floor installer from Philadelphia also pleaded guilty to a smaller role in the scheme. More pleas are expected today, including one from a 10-year Atlantic City Fire Department veteran who resigned this month, Amy Rosenberg reports for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Also, watch Ted Greenberg’s report for NBC 10 here.
Trump’s Opioid Commitment
Just hours before we went offline, Bill published this piece on Donald Trump’s legacy in Atlantic City – which now seems to be mostly scratched, smashed and painted over from anywhere it might have previously appeared. The piece looks into efforts by local historian Levi Fox to set up a Trump Museum and help the city to some revenue from its connection to the President. It also considers the intravenous drug paraphernalia outside the Taj Mahal human resources office, the scratched-out TRUMPs on the posters of the casino there, and how that reflects on Trump’s campaign commitment to address the opioid crisis (and the Taj’s new owners). Bill went back to check the site yesterday and although some of the needles had been cleaned up there were still caps and other mess around – watch that video here.
Meet Mario – another of our #humansofatlanticcity pieces.
In the rest of the news from while we were offline, Gloucester Township has a bike-share scheme, read this feature on the waterborne-contaminants expert at American Water (he’s retiring after three decades), a Cherry Hill man runs a business selling white-supremacist merchandise, the legal bill for the Atlantic City takeover has reached $3 million,
We learned a lot about how not to run our site during the last few days. We installed a glitchy plugin to manage database backups and suddenly all our storage was eaten up. If you want to help us out, we would love to barter with someone who could help us manage backups and fix a few CSS glitches in return for advertising on our site and/or in the Roundup newsletter. If you don’t have web skills but you value local news, we’d also appreciate financial support! We welcome advertisers (just get in touch for details of ad rates for the newsletter and site) or you can become a Route 40 member here, make a one-off contribution here, or send a check to our company Oyster Eye Publishing LLC (PO Box 3276, Margate, NJ 08402). Want to read more about our business plan? Email us. Also, find out about our Business Bootcamp events (more on this next week).
More news links:
IT Company Ancero Expands to Atlantic City Office–Ancero LLC plans to open a sales and marketing office Sept. 1 at the Schultz-Hill Professional Arts Building on Pacific Avenue, the communications and IT firm announced this week. Ancero’s corporate office and network operations center is located in Mount Laurel, Burlington County. Press of Atlantic City
Driver Headed to Cape May Successfully Jumps Rising Drawbridge–Terence Naphys, of Thorofare, Gloucester County, faced a dangerous choice earlier this month while driving north on the Middle Thorofare Bridge that connects the Wildwoods and Cape May. Press of Atlantic City
Fox in Galloway Township Tests Positive for Rabies after Biting Dog–A fox that bit a dog near Stockton University this week tested positive for rabies, becoming the second animal in Atlantic County to test positive this year. The dog was running with its owner near Waterway Drive when it was bitten, county officials said. The fox was soon captured and sent to the state lab for testing. Press of Atlantic City
Linwood Drug Rep, Philly Man Plead Guilty in $28M Shore Public Benefit Rx Scheme–A Linwood, N.J., pharmaceutical representative and a Philadelphia man entered guilty pleas in federal court in Camden on Thursday in the first salvo of what authorities described as the unraveling of a $28 million prescription drug fraud conspiracy involving Shore firefighters, police officers, teachers, and a state trooper. Philly.com
Cherry Hill Man is Major Distributor of White-Supremacy Music and Merchandise–Steven Wiegand, owner of Micetrap Distribution, is among the largest purveyors of white-supremacist merchandise and music in the country. Over more than two decades, while keeping a mostly quiet profile in South Jersey, the 45-year-old Wiegand has built a full-time business and carved a solid spot in an industry that feeds and profits from the proliferation of hate. Philly.com
‘Dr. Water’ is Hanging Up His Lab Coat After Three Decades–Mark W. LeChevallier has studied a parade of waterborne perils in more than 30 years as a microbiologist for American Water Works Co. Inc., building an impressive scientific reputation. But he is perhaps best known to outsiders under his blog handle: “Dr. Water.” Philly.com
Man Struck and Killed By Light Rail in Trenton– Authorities in New Jersey's capital city say a man has died after being struck by a train. Philly.com