Latest news with #Crupi
The Guardian
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Murder charges over shooting of gangland lawyer Joseph Acquaro dropped
The Victorian director of public prosecutions has dropped murder charges relating to the shooting death of gangland lawyer and police informer Joseph 'Pino' Acquaro. The explosive development brings to an end a court case that threatened to force Victoria police to reveal the identity of human sources in order to prosecute Vincenzo Crupi, who they alleged had murdered Acquaro. Acquaro, himself a police informant, was gunned down near his East Brunswick cafe in March 2016. Crupi pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence. He was charged with the murder in 2018 but has been on bail since March 2021. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Acquaro was found to have provided information to the force about his former clients, including people alleged to be members of the Calabrian mafia, the 'Ndrangheta. It was not part of the prosecution case that Acquaro had informed on Crupi, or that Crupi was a member of the 'Ndrangheta. Documents provided to Crupi's lawyers as part of disclosure – a process designed to ensure an accused has access to all relevant evidence held by police in order to properly defend their case – showed that the force relied on an informer, known as Informer Z, as part of its case. Crupi won an appeal in the Victorian court of appeal that would have forced Victoria police to reveal the informer's identity. The court noted that it was likely that, at his trial, Crupi would submit that there were other people with a motive to kill Acquaro. The chief commissioner of Victoria police and the director of public prosecutions appealed against the court of appeal decision to the high court. Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The high court found police disclosed a substantial number of documents to Crupi about Acquaro and the threats to his life, but sought to resist disclosure of additional documents, comprising about 600 pages. They resisted this on the ground of public interest immunity because disclosure might reveal the identity of Informer Z or enable their identity to be ascertained. An application to resist disclosure of the public interest immunity material was heard and dismissed by the primary judge on 16 November 2022. The office of public prosecutions said in a statement on Friday: 'The case against Vincenzo Crupi for the murder of Joseph Acquaro has been reviewed by the director's committee and a special decision made to discontinue the prosecution. 'Every prosecution must have reasonable prospects of conviction and be in the public interest. This decision followed very careful consideration of the case with respect to these criteria and, as with all matters involving a death, was not arrived at lightly. 'Following discussions with Mr Acquaro's family members, the notice of discontinuance was filed this morning.'
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NJ businesses around I-80 sinkhole get creative to get customers in
MINE HILL TOWNSHIP, N.J. (PIX11) – It's not Nick Crupi's normal bagel spot, but after hearing what Pop's Bagel Shop and so many other businesses in Wharton are going through, he drove over from Randolph to support them. 'Just trying to help the guy out,' said Crupi. 'There's no business because of the traffic.' More Local News It's that kind of help that goes a long way for Pop's, but what would help even more is having a slice of millions of dollars in relief grants and loans. 'Our profit margins are real thin at this point,' said Yazan Muheisen, owner of Pop's Bagel Shop. Muheisen got word Friday morning of a plan for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to enact a $5 million relief grant program for impacted businesses like his. The EDA board will be voting on whether to approve the plan at its monthly meeting on Wednesday. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State 'The $5 million allocation is not subject to this upcoming budget cycle that I'm actually in the process of deliberating over,' said Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-NJ 25th District), who, along with other lawmakers, is continuing to push forward the Road to Relief act bills that aim to offer businesses both tax and transportation cost relief. It's all part of the response to the I-80 sinkhole mess, which officials say will continue into May and June. 'We didn't take our foot off the gas for this,' said Dunn, 'and I won't.' These efforts are on top of a $2 million loan program from the U.S. Small Business Administration announced on Friday. In nearby Mine Hill Township, along an often-jammed Route 46, Esposito's L&L Deli is hurting. 'We're like a mom and pop store, we have a little bit of everything,' said owner Scott Esposito. '[Drivers] don't want to leave and get out of line because they can't get back in. So that's how it's impacting us.' To help incentivize their customers to come in, L&L is leaning into the sinkhole chaos by offering an 80-cent coffee and a sandwich sinkhole special. Mine Hill Mayor Sam Morris encourages people to support places like this in a charitable way. 'It may be inconvenient, but they need them to be here when June comes around,' said Morris. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
