Joseph and Celeste Tamburello claimed the whopping prize at state lottery offices in Trenton Monday, nine days after Celeste bought the winning ticket at the Little Silver Family Pharmacy in Little Silver, the Asbury Park Press reports.

Today, on her fifteenth anniversary working at a food services company, Celeste plans to give her two-week’s notice, according to the reports.

The ticket – with the numbers 32, 43, 53, 55, 56 plus the Powerball number of 6 – was computer-generated, the Press reports.

From the Sledger:

Since they chose the whole pile of money at once, the Tinton Falls couple will take home $41.5 million before taxes.

“It’s unbelievable,” Celeste Tamburello, 41, said today. “I just never in a million years thought a $2 lottery ticket would turn into a $70 million Powerball ticket.”

The couple bought the “quick pick” ticket at Little Silver Family Pharmacy last Sunday. On Friday night, Joseph Tamburello’s sister called with news that the pharmacy had sold the winning ticket to Wednesday’s jackpot.

Joseph Tamburello ran and got the ticket, while his wife pulled up the winning numbers.

One by one she read the numbers aloud. Each time, her husband said, “Got it.”

Around the fourth number, she checked to see if he was joking. He wasn’t.

She read out the powerball number, which was 6.

“He jumps up, said ‘Oh my God it’s us,” she said. “We were just like screaming, the dogs were barking, my sister-in-law was crying.”

From the Press:

The Tamburellos are regular but modest lottery players, buying a single Mega Millions ticket and Powerball ticket nearly every week for more than eight years. They sometime buy scratch-off lottery games or visit the casinos; Joseph said the biggest thing he’d ever won before was between $2,200 and $2,500 on a 25-cent slot machine in Atlantic City.

“I don’t have much to say. It’s unbelievable,” he said.

One of the first things the couple plans to do with the money is buy Celeste a Cadillac. “I drive a 15-year-old Saturn, and I’m pretty sure I’m taking that creampuff in and I’m going to trade it in on an Escalade sometime in the very near future,” she said.

“See some parts of the world,” she added. “We haven’t really had the opportunity, because we’ve always worked full-time. We’ve never really had the opportunity to travel outside of the U.S. very much, and so I think we’d like to do a little travel, do a little kick back and relax. You don’t have to think too much about what’s to come.”

The couple married in 1999 and has no children, but they have a large extended family they intend to take on a nice vacation. “We’ve got family we don’t even know we have,” the suddenly wealthy Joseph joked.

Wednesday’s Star-Ledger has a quirky story about what happens to all those New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway tollbooths after they’re decommissioned by E-Z Pass technology.

They’re put out to pasture in a yard near the Asbury Toll Plaza in Tinton Falls, the Sledger reports.

From the Sledger article, by Mike Franinelli:

“They call it the Tollbooth Graveyard,” said Bob Quirk, who has spent a career in and around tollbooths, first as a collector who breathed fumes and made change at Exit 14C on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1978, and now as director of tolls for the Turnpike and Parkway.

As they decide whether to hit the cash or E-ZPass express lanes, drivers wouldn’t necessarily notice the resting place for tollbooths in the shadows of the busy plaza.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which oversees the Parkway and Turnpike, will one day have to figure out what to do with the highway boxes that became casualties when one-way tolling arrived on certain sections of the Parkway.

For now, similar to a dearly departed organ donor providing body parts for the still-living, tollbooths in the graveyard can be scavenged by Parkway maintenance workers for, among other useful parts, their windows and air conditioning and stainless-steel “Dutch doors” that were at the waist level of toll collectors.

In addition, some of the 32 tollbooths in the graveyard could be resurrected with new paint and parts if other toll booths on the Parkway become severely damaged.

“If, God forbid, something were to happen to the toll plaza and a whole booth went out or something, it would be easy to rig one of these up to put in,” said Tom Feeney, a spokesman for Turnpike Authority.

More here.

The Woman’s Club of Red Bank and three historic structures in Shrewsbury are among the local nonprofits set to share in $71,200 in grants awarded by the Monmouth County Historical Commission, the county government announced Friday.

From the announcement:

“These grants support the great work being done by preservationists in the community,” said Freeholder Lillian G. Burry, liaison to the county Historical Commission. “These structures tie us to previous generations and help remind us that we must treasure and remember our roots and the people who built our communities. I take pride in the opportunity to give my support and the support of the entire Board of Chosen Freeholders as partners in preservation.”

 The Historical Commission is dedicated to preserving the past and creating a living history. Projects eligible for funding are preservation, restoration or rehabilitation of historic structures – usually 50 years or older – that are accessible to the public. The program covers essentially structural work for projects commonly known as “bricks and mortar” undertakings.

 “The preservation and restoration of historic structures make history real and present in our lives,” Burry said. “These grants are an essential part of what the county does. It is important to maintain and restore these landmarks to their glory and interpret their importance for generations to come.”

 The Monmouth County Historical Commission was created by the Board of Chosen Freeholders for the preservation and conservation of Monmouth County history. Established in August 1988, its principal program is the preservation grants, an undertaking that recognizes the acute need for funds to preserve Monmouth County’s rich and diverse historic legacy. The commission grants matching funds on a competitive basis to municipalities and nonprofit organizations needing financial help in the preservation or restoration of historic structures.

 “Recipients will receive a check for their projects upon completion of the work and the submission of the required paperwork,” said Randall Gabrielan, executive director of the Historical Commission.

 Each grant application must include a description of the project, its meaning to history and the significance and the audience it serves. It must also include a detailed budget, a source of funding available for the applicant’s dollar-for-dollar contribution, detailed quotations for the work, the materials to be used and a time frame for completion.

 There is a $500 minimum request per applicant in any year. The program is competitive and the commission requires proof of the availability of matching funds.

Each grantee is required to submit interim and final reports. The documents are to be accompanied by three photographs that detail project progress. The interim report is due when 50 percent of the work is completed. The final report, due at completion, must show evidence of completion and a canceled check to document payment to the contractor.

The deadline for applying for the preservation grants is Nov. 1 of every year. Information about the Historical Commission grant program can be found at www.visitmonmouth.com

For information about the county’s Historical Commission, email Gabrielan at monmouthhistory@comcast.net or by calling 732-431-7413. Additional information can be found on the county’s Web site at www.visitmonmouth.com.

 The public can visit many of these sites during the Weekend in Old Monmouth tour May 5 and 6.

The 2011 Preservation Grant recipients are:

• Atlantic Highlands
  Atlantic Highlands Historical Society – Porch Restoration, Phase 6 – Roof            $ 6,000
• Avon
  Borough of Avon By The Sea – Pavilion – Phase V Restoration            $ 4,000
• Belmar
  Belmar Historical Council – Union Firehouse – Phase 2            $ 5,000
• Eatontown
  Mt. Zion AME Zion Church – Window Restoration            $ 4,000
• Holmdel
  Holmdel Historical Society – Dr. Cooke Office, Chimney Repair & Painting             $ 1,500
• Long Branch
  Long Branch Historical Museum Assn. – Church of Presidents, North Wall Siding $ 7,400
• Middletown
  Old First Church – Façade Restoration            $ 5,000
• Middletown
  All Saints Memorial Church – Exterior Minor Repairs and Painting            $ 6,500
• Millstone
  Township of Millstone – Structural Repairs to Former Church            $ 6,000
• Neptune
  Historical Society of Ocean Grove – Restoration of Memorial Vase Structure            $   800
• Neptune
  Ocean Grove Historic Preservation Society Inc. – Basement Windows            $ 4,000
• Red Bank
  Woman’s Club of Red Bank – Exterior Restoration of South Elevation            $ 6,500
• Shrewsbury
  Shrewsbury Monthly Meeting – Phase VII: Second Floor Windows (4)            $ 5,000
• Shrewsbury
  Christ Church – Exterior Painting            $ 4,000
• Shrewsbury
  Monmouth County Historical Association – Smokehouse Restoration            $ 3,000
• Tinton Falls
  Borough of Tinton Falls – Second Story Ceiling Repairs            $ 2,000

By JOHN T. WARD

After months of secrecy, the lawyer for the most vocal opponent of a proposed Hampton Inn in Red Bank has identified the moneybags paying for his services.

They’re the operators of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel on Hope Road in Tinton Falls.

Attorney Ron Gasiorowski ended his cat-and-mouse game over Stephen Mitchell’s backing Thursday night, when he told the borough zoning board that brothers Carey and Doran Tejfal of Tinton Falls Realty Lodging were picking up the tab for his services.

Gasiorowski, who has filed two pending lawsuits against borough boards over the hotel plan and appeared at numerous hearings on Mitchell’s behalf, had previously declined to tell the borough planning board who was paying his fees, citing attorney-client privilege.

But Gasiorowski dropped that objection at a zoning board hearing Thursday night convened specifically to weigh Mitchell’s claim that town officials erred in ruling last year that the planned hotel did not need a height variance.

Though the planning board has been hearing the hotel application since August, the height issue was kicked over to the zoning board in January because only that board can make that determination under the law, said zoning board attorney Kevin Kennedy.

Gasiorowski said he was disclosing the Tejfals’ names because he agreed with Kennedy, who maintained that without the disclosure, there would be a question of whether Mitchell, now in the position of an applicant, would be compliant with a borough ordinance requiring applicants to identify their principals. The law is aimed at having board members recuse themselves for potential conflicts of interest, and Kennedy said they could not comply if they did not know who was paying Mitchell’s fare.

The law is also aimed at identifying “out-of-town competitors” as objectors, because they “would not have standing to be objectors” under the law to bring challenges of the kind Mitchell filed, Kennedy said.

Though the Tejfals would appear to meet the definition of out-of-town competitors, the zoning board went ahead with its hearing after Gasiorowski told Kennedy that, while he has represented other Tejfal entities in other towns and lawsuits, he was not doing so in this case. Mitchell, he said, was his client, and the Tejfals were merely paying the bills.

A press release issued by DoubleTree to announce the October, 2010 opening of the Tinton Falls facility identified Tinton Falls Realty Lodging as a subsidiary of Hotels Unlimited. That family-owned company’s website says it owns 10 Radisson, Holiday and Days inns in Toms River, East Windsor and elsewhere, and identifies the Tejfall brothers as executives.

Mitchell, of Prospect Avenue, has consistently declined to answer reporters’ questions about his relationship to his backers. He maintains the six-story, 72-room hotel, proposed for a triangular lot on the site of a former Exxon Station at the foot of the Route 35 Cooper’s Bridge on the Navesink River, is too large for the location.

During the meat of the hearing, Gasiorowski appeared to elicit an acknowledgement from borough Engineer Christine Ballard that she had, in his words, committed “an honest mistake” by  applying the wrong height standard to the hotel property in her initial review of the Hampton plan, a decision that Gasiorowski maintains led planning and zoning director Donna Smith Barr to steer the case to the wrong board.

Though the hotel application is being heard by the planning board, Mitchell maintains it should be before the zoning board, where the criteria for winning variances are stiffer. He has also filed a lawsuit on the question.

The hearing on Mitchell’s challenge was scheduled to resume March 15.

Meantime, the planning board next meets on Monday night, and a resumption of the hotel hearing is on the agenda: RBPB agenda 030512

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Red Bank police closed the book on a quartet of burglary cases over the past two weeks, including a double break-in at a park concession stand.

Five suspects were arrested in total, for burglaries that committed over the last two weeks, police said. All suspects were locals.

According to police spokesman aptain Darren McConnell:

•  Two teens were arrested in connection with two break-ins at the Riverside Gardens Park concession stand. A 14-year-old from Red Bank and a 15-year-old from Fair Haven were later released to their parents after police arrested them for busting into the stand and stealing drinks and snacks, he said. The case was forwarded to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

• Two men from Tinton Falls were arrested for their alleged roles in a burglary at a Wallace Street residence on August 14, McConnell said.

Robert Manookian, 22, and Dwayne Davis, 21, were charged with theft and burglary by borough police after being tracked down by Tinton Falls officers the day of the crime. The two were taken to Monmouth County Correctional Institute in Freehold in lieu of $25,000 bail.

• Oscar Tellez-Tlalpichito, 27, of Red Bank, is accused of breaking into a vehicle near Riverview Medical Center on East Front Street and stealing an amplifier, clothing and a purse — all of which were recovered by police at his residence, McConnell said.

Tellez-Tlalpichito was charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief and hindering his own apprehension. He was taken to the county jail in lieu of $51,000 bail.

A Farmingdale man already in jail on charges of breaking into unlocked cars all over the redbankgreen coverage area and beyond now faces additional charges for the same crimes in Red Bank, police said.

Rodney Tyler, 19, was charged with five counts of burglary and theft on Thursday, closing the book on a round of break-ins that occurred on the East Side of town, police Captain Darren McConnell said Wednesday.

“It was back when we had a slew of them, back in March,” McConnell said.

Tyler, of Water Street in Farmingdale, who was arrested last month for more than 100 break-ins in Rumson, Tinton Falls and Fair Haven, was identified as the sole suspect in break-ins in the area of Prospect and Harrison avenues on March 28, McConnell said.

His brother Jeffrey, who the Asbury Park Press reported is a fugitive and was connected with break-ins in Rumson, Shrewsbury, Wall, Deal, Ocean, Belmar, Sea Girt, Avon, Spring Lake and Spring Lake Heights, is not a suspect in the Red Bank crimes, McConnnell said.

Tyler made off with items like loose change and a GPS system, McConnell said.

“It was all relatively small items,” he said. “They were all unsecured vehicles.”

The investigation by police, going off Tyler’s method of operation and the time frame which he is alleged to have committed the crimes, led to an additional $62,000 to his bail, McConnell said. The Press said his bail is now at $285,000 with no 10-percent option.

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Governor Chris Christie’s announcement Wednesday of how he’s apportioning $850 million in aid to school districts was welcome news to superintendents, who last year took axes and scalpels to their budgets when Christie froze funding.

But while any additional funds are welcome, local school leaders say they’re still in the dark over one big question: how are they going to be able to use it?

“We’re still, right now, sort of waiting for additional guidance from the Department of Education how they would like us to proceed with additional funding,” said Jim Stefankiewicz, superintendent of Red Bank Regional High School in Little Silver. His school got a whopping 147-percent boost in state aid. “Information from the governor’s office said that they would really like it to be earmaked more for property tax relief, which we are very open to and considering.”

But until official word comes down what the money can be used for, Stefankiewicz, like other leaders, is in a holding pattern.

“Right now we can’t make any plans,” Red Bank Superintendent Laura Morana said. “We’re just waiting to hear from the state. It’s not necessarily saying you can do whatever you wish with it.”

If that were the case, districts could certainly find plenty of uses for the extra cash.

In Morana’s district, last year’s budget crunch forced administrators to cut key programs like athletics and class trips. Much-needed maintenance was put on hold.

Although a release from 12th district legislators – state Senator Jennifer Beck and Assembly members Declan O’Scanlon and Caroline Casagrande – says Red Bank will receive an additional $302,740, or 17 percent, Morana said  the district received actually half that money — about $150,000 — earlier this year.

In a two-school district with a $19.45 million budget, an additional $150,000 is a drop in the bucket and would do little in the way of property tax relief, if that’s what it’s to be used for, Morana said.

“Any additional funding that comes through that we can allocate to the district is certainly welcome,” she said. “Any money at this particular point is definitely appreciated.”

Red Bank is set to receive less, percentage-wise, than most other in the legislative district — which stretches across portions of Monmouth County from Colts Neck to Rumson, Oceanport to Manalapan — and others, like RBR will get significant increases.

Fair Haven, for example, is set to see a 375-percent hike in funds.

The breakdowns go like this, according to yhr 12th-district legislators:

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A routine traffic stop early Sunday morning led to the arrest of a man with a dagger, stun gun and heroin in Fair Haven, police said.

Police also brought other charges against Bruce Thompson II, of Red Bank, and his passenger, Todd Gunderson, of Middletown.

At about 12:42 a.m. Sunday, police stopped Thompson’s car on Kemp Avenue for a motor vehicle violation, according to Detective Jesse Dykstra. Thompson, 22, was found to have outstanding traffic warrants against him from other towns, as well as a warrant for violating his probation, and was arrested, Dykstra said.

Thompson’s passenger, Gunderson, was also placed under arrest on outstanding warrants.

Police then found the two to be in possession of heroin and hypodermic needles, and were charged for those crimes, Dykstra said.

Thompson was also charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and, after police found a stun gun and a dagger, possession of weapons.

Both men were taken to Monmouth County Correctional Institute in lieu of bail, Dykstra said.

Tinton Falls police’s K-9 unit assisted police in Sunday morning’s investigation.

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Tinton Falls and Rumson police have brought close to 75 charges against a Farmingdale teenager for his alleged role in car break-ins that occurred over the course of four months in each town.

Charges from surrounding towns and others in eastern Monmouth County may soon follow, officials said Monday.

The departments made the charges following the arrest of Rodney Tyler, 19, in Wall last Friday.

“It was a good catch for us,” Lieutenant David Scrivanic, of Tinton Falls police, said.

Tinton Falls charged Tyler on June 10 with 63 counts of burglary and thefts to motor vehicles and one count of burglary and theft to a structure within the borough, Scrivanic said.

He was held on $90,000 bail in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, he said.

Tinton Falls police, who had been in steady contact with police in other area towns, believe Tyler was responsible for numerous, car break-ins that happened in different areas of the borough and beyond.

“The gentleman was going from town to town over the course of a few months,” Scrivanic said. After he was arrested in Wall, he added, “it unfolded from there.”

On Monday morning, Rumson police positively identified Tyler as a suspect in eight break-ins that occurred on April 11 — a month before the department arrested a trio for 18 break-ins — Detective Chris Isherwood said. Tyler was not among the trio, which included a 19-year-old man from Oceanport and two juveniles.

Isherwood said Tyler was caught on video at a residence breaking into a car, and after he was arrested Friday, police were able to match him to the video and seven other break-ins.

Tyler was charged with eight counts of burglary, two counts of theft and was held on $45,000 bail in the county jail on those allegations, he said.

Isherwood believes Tyler may be responsible for a rash of break-ins that have been reported by most departments within the redbankgreen coverage area. Scrivanic said Tyler is also facing charges in Deal and Ocean, as well as Wall.

“I definitely think there’s a good portion of the county this guy’s been involved with,” Isherwood said.

Rumson Police Chief Richard Tobias said Tyler’s arrest makes his town and others much safer now.

“It’s good for everybody,” he said.

And although Scrivanic said the arrest was huge for the borough, it’s possible Tyler was not the only one responsible.

“I don’t know if it’ll put an end to something like this, but I know it clears a lot of our cases,” he said.

Since April, Fair Haven, Rumson, Red Bank, Shrewsbury, Little Silver and Tinton Falls police have reported car break-ins.

Representatives from Red Bank, Fair Haven, Shrewsbury and Little Silver could not immediately be reached for comment on whether they believe Tyler is responsible for those crimes. redbankgreen will update this story if those departments believe that to be the case.

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Memorial Day is this Monday, signifying not just a long weekend and the unofficial start to the summer season, but most importantly a holiday to pay tribute to the American soldiers who’ve died in service to the country.

Here’s a roundup of Decoration Day events around the redbankgreen.

Red Bank: Borough representatives and members of the Red Bank Elks will hold an 11 a.m. ceremony at the veteran’s memorial outside 51 Monmouth St. on Monday. For more info, contact the parks and recreation department at 732.530.2782.

Fair Haven: The borough will hold its annual Memorial Day parade Monday morning. Lineup starts at 8:30 a.m. outside Knollwood School on Hance Road, and the parade starts promptly at 9 a.m.

Rumson: Rumson’s annual parade and service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, when the first siren sounds. Parade route is from Blackpoint Road at Forrestdale School, turning left on East River Road to Victory Park on West River Road. A memorial service will begin immediately following the parade. (Note: there will be no garbage pickup Monday)

Little Silver: A parade will take place at 8:30 a.m. Monday. Lineup takes place at Parker Avenue (next to Willow Deli) and marches to borough hall.

Sea Bright: Sea Bright’s Memorial Day service will be held at 11 a.m. at the borough fire house, at 1099 Ocean Avenue. The service will include an organist, patriotic songs, wreath-laying and a lowering of the flag, followed by a buffet sponsored by the department’s ladies auxiliary. For more info, call borough hall at 732.842.0099.

Shrewsbury: The borough’s annual Memorial Day parade will begin at 10 a.m. Monday. The ceremony will be held at Patriot Isle at the corner of Route 35 and Sycamore Avenue, followed by refreshments at Shrewsbury Hose Company No. 1. Any Shrewsbury residents who are active military and/or know of a family member, friend, or neighbor in Shrewsbury who is serving our nation at home or overseas, contact the clerk’s office at 732-741-4200, extension 108, so that they can be recognized.

Middletown: American Legion Post 338 will hold a Memorial Day parade at 10 a.m. Monday. The parade begins at Bayshore Middle School on Leonardville Road, and continues down Appleton Avenue to Center Avenue, right onto Highland Avenue, left on Leonard Avenue, right on Viola Avenue and ending at the American Legion Post on Route 36.

Middletown’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2179 will hold five wreath-laying ceremonies throughout town Monday. They are as follows:

9 a.m. at the World War I monument in Belford; 9:30 a.m. at the Korean War monument in Port Monmouth; 10 a.m. at the World War II monument at town hall; 10:30 a.m. at the Vietnam War memorial; and 11 a.m. at Thorne Middle School in Port Monmouth. The events will be followed by a service at the V.F.W. headquarters in Port Monmouth.

Tinton Falls: The borough’s Memorial Day ceremony takes place at 11 a.m. at the village green at 6 Firehouse Road (on the corner of Sycamore and Tinton avenues). The ceremony will feature a guest speaker from Fort Monmouth, Colonel David M. Moore, with refreshments to follow at Tinton Falls Fire Company No. 1.

Remember, all municipal offices will be closed Monday.