Photo by Chris Sykes An Orange man uses his cellphone on Wednesday, Jan. 11, after discovering that the F.B.I. had closed City Hall on North Day Street for the day, in order to conduct another search of files, equipment and associated materials and paraphernalia, as part of the federal government's ongoing investigation into allegations of wire fraud, extortion, money laundering and conspiracy to commit theft and accept corrupt payments that allegedly occurred in Mayor Dwayne Warren's administration.
An Orange man uses his cellphone on Wednesday, Jan. 11, after discovering that the F.B.I. had closed City Hall on North Day Street for the day, in order to conduct another search of files, equipment and associated materials and paraphernalia, as part of the federal government’s ongoing investigation into allegations of wire fraud, extortion, money laundering and conspiracy to commit theft and accept corrupt payments that allegedly occurred in Mayor Dwayne Warren’s administration.
ORANGE, NJ — The reaction around the city of Orange Township and on social media to the news that the FBI had once again raided City Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 11, was swift and heated.
The building was shut down for the day as the agency’s ongoing investigation probed the following allegations dating back to 2012: theft of federal government funds; theft and accepting corrupt payments concerning an organization receiving federal funds; conspiracy to commit theft and accept corrupt payments; wire fraud; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; extortion under color of official right, conspiracy to do the same; and money laundering.
“What in the hell had happened to our city?” asked Pete Parker in his Facebook posting on Wednesday, Jan. 11.
Earl Scott, another Orange resident, also left a comment on the “Orange NJ Real Talk” Facebook forum page on Wednesday, Jan. 11: “While eating lunch, I was informed of township of Orange recent event. I will not judge, yet I must say I have asked through prayer Orange be a better city. Sometimes fires have to burn thoroughly to rid unwarranted attachments and it usually have to get worse before being resurrected to prominent status.”
Scott ended his remarks by vowing “to make every effort to assist in leading indirectly or directly to making the city better.” He went on to state that he’s preparing for his coming leadership role in Orange by “making every effort to attend law school,” but “whatever outcome, someone has to either be a victim or be the leader to make this city better than what it is.”
Reggie Miller, an Orange native who is the coordinator of the Rutgers University School of Medicine Male Student Support Program, which operates out of Orange Preparatory Academy in the Orange School District, was more blunt about the FBI raid on City Hall, saying, “I feel if anybody did wrong, they need to go to jail,” on Sunday, Jan. 15.
“My heart is bleeding right now” for Orange, Miller added, saying that the recent negative news and headlines about crime, guns, violence, killing, corruption and possible government malfeasance is giving his hometown a “bad name.”
“I heard somebody tell me, ‘Reg, Orange is turning into ‘The Purge’ right now, because all this stuff is going on,” Miller said, referring to the hit horror movie that depicts a dystopian America where the population is allowed to indulge in their violent, immoral and illegal behavior once a year in order to “purge” those desires for the supposed good of society.
“That hurt me. It hurt me because I love my town and care about my town. But I ain’t going nowhere.”
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