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Jon Craig

Reporter

jon.craig@dailyvoice.com

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Pleasantville native Jon Craig is special editor for the Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess Daily Voice sites. He is also the primary reporter for Daily Voice Plus Politics in Westchester and Fairfield.

Jon graduated from Cornell University and received his master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Across a 35-year career, he's worked as a reporter for daily newspapers in Chicago, New York, Ohio & Washington, D.C and as managing editor for weekly newspapers in Rye, White Plains and Harrison.

Jon also writes periodically for the Cornell Chronicle.

Career Highlights:

  • Covered Metro-North train wreck that killed a motorist and five commuters, 2015
  • Researched state investigative project for PublicIntegrity.org, 2011-12
  • National MADD award for database analysis of repeat drunk drivers in Ohio, 2008.
  • Henry F. Guggenheim Fellow, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2010.
  • Sentenced to jail for protecting confidential sources (won on appeal), 1999.
  • Broke 30th anniversary story about Kent State shootings — using FBI records, resurrecting theory a student informant triggered fatal National Guard volley, May 2000.
  • Covered Ground Zero after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks.
  • Uncovered voting problems before & during presidential recount in Ohio, 2004.
  • Witnessed botched Death Row execution of Romell Broom in 2009, one of more than a dozen I covered; Wrote about three inmates whose death sentences were commuted to life without parole.
  • Won IRE, SDX and multiple national & state awards for series led by Erik Kriss investigating New York General Assembly. 1994.
  • Guest lecturer at universities in NY & Ohio. Taught Syracuse high school journalism class.
  • Co-authored IRE-award winning series on illegal restraints/beatings at juvenile detention centers. Gov. Mario Cuomo had NY inspector general confirm what Hart Seely and I found at Division for Youth & fired top directors, 1993.
  • Survived Air Force Kool School training at North Pole, 1996.
  • Covered Persian Gulf wars, including 2002 bomb missions from Turkey and stateside Army/Air Guard training. 1991.
  • Supervised overnight coverage of Pan Am Flight 103 after Libyan bomb killed 35 Syracuse University students over Lockerbie, Scotland, 1988.
  • Covered aftermath of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s fatal plane crash from Cape Cod, 1999.
  • Greeted Kurt Vonnegut Jr. as Cornell Sun sports editor during daily's 100th anniversary dinner in May 1980. 

Jon Craig's Contributions

Police & Fire
Authorities: Man Who Kicked Hamburg Officer In Groin Once Assaulted State Trooper Authorities: Man Who Kicked Hamburg Officer In Groin Once Assaulted State Trooper
Authorities: Man Who Kicked Hamburg Officer In Groin Once Assaulted State Trooper A man recently arrested for drunkenly assaulting three Hamburg police officers was once taken into custody for slamming a car door on a state trooper, said authorities who charged him. Hamburg police responded to a dispute between the 52-year-old man and an unidentified woman at 100 Quarry Road Sunday evening, police said in a release. Upon arrival,  Kurt M. Takach appeared highly intoxicated was immediately uncooperative with officers, authorities said.  The property's landlord said Takach was told numerous times before that he was not permitted there due to prior incidents…

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by Jon Craig
News
Murphy Praises Paramus 'RHONJ' Star, Coronavirus Survivor Jennifer Aydin For Distributing PPE Murphy Praises Paramus 'RHONJ' Star, Coronavirus Survivor Jennifer Aydin For Distributing PPE
Murphy Praises Paramus 'Rhonj' Star, Coronavirus Survivor Jennifer Aydin For Distributing PPE "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Jennifer Aydin is shining in another role -- donating vital personal protection equipment  (PPE) to frontline medical workers amid the coronavirus crisis. Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday gave one of his #NJThanksYou shoutouts to "Garden State hero" Aydin of Paramus, who recovered from the virus along with her daughter, Gabby. Aydin has been soliciting, rounding up and distributing PPE -- including 3,000 N95 masks for doctors, nurses and other critical workers, the governor said. "Thank you for keeping our frontline responders in your thoughts,'' Murp…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Perth Amboy Neighbors Raise Money For Families Displaced By Fire Perth Amboy Neighbors Raise Money For Families Displaced By Fire
Perth Amboy Neighbors Raise Money For Families Displaced By Fire Friends, family and neighbors of 30 victims of a weekend fire in Perth Amboy are raising money to support relocation of tenants who lost their apartments and belongings. At least two GoFuneMe fundraising campaigns have been launched for victims of the weekend fire that gutted two multi-family homes on Madison Avenue. The displaced families are being assisted by both the city and the American Red Cross. No residents were injured, fire officials said. One Perth Amboy fire captain was treated for a minor injury and released, they said. Two houses were destroyed by the afternoon fire that…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Monmouth County Officer Admits Sexual Contact With Jail Inmate -- His Ex-Girlfriend Monmouth County Officer Admits Sexual Contact With Jail Inmate -- His Ex-Girlfriend
Monmouth County Officer Admits Sexual Contact With Jail Inmate -- His Ex-Girlfriend A corrections officer at the Monmouth County Jail admitted having sexual contact with an inmate at the jail in Freehold last year, authorities said. Thomas J. Mauro, 42 of Beachwood, pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal sexual contact, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said in a statement. An investigation found that Mauro and the 31-year-old inmate had a relationship in 2013 before the she was an inmate at the jail. The victim from Neptune City was seen April 27, 2019, entering a bathroom at the correctional facility reserved for the exclusive use of Monmouth County Corr…

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by Jon Craig
Obituaries
COVID-19: Comedian Horrified That Jewish Cousin With Prepaid NY Plot Got Catholic NJ Funeral COVID-19: Comedian Horrified That Jewish Cousin With Prepaid NY Plot Got Catholic NJ Funeral
Covid-19: Comedian Horrified That Jewish Cousin With Prepaid NY Plot Got Catholic NJ Funeral Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) victim Dorothea Buschell had a prepaid Jewish burial plot next to her parents and sister at a Long Island cemetery.  Relatives were shocked to discover what Buschell apparently got instead was a pricey Catholic funeral in Central New Jersey. Buschell, 83, died Monday, April 13 after coming down with COVID-19 at the Hamilton Park Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Bay Ridge, The City reported. The family was never notified, and after three weeks of calling, they finally got through to the facility, comedian Elayne Boosler wrote on Facebook. Nu…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Authorities: Death Of 28-Year-Old Man Found In Front Of Toms River IHOP Not Suspicious Authorities: Death Of 28-Year-Old Man Found In Front Of Toms River IHOP Not Suspicious
Authorities: Death Of 28-Year-Old Man Found In Front Of Toms River IHOP Not Suspicious The death of a 28-year-old Berkeley man whose body was found in front of a Toms River IHOP wasn't suspicious, authorities said. A passerby found the body of Jaime Lee Kolbasowski on a bench in front of the Route 37 restaurant around noon Monday, Police Lt. Peter Sundack said. Police didn't know how long it had been there. The Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office was conducting an autopsy to determine the official cause of death. Township Detectives Patrick Jacques and Louis Santora were investigating, along with the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office. Kolbasowski's death was b…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Barnegat PD: Amidst COVID-19, Police Nab Atlantic City Drug Dealers Barnegat PD: Amidst COVID-19, Police Nab Atlantic City Drug Dealers
Barnegat PD: Amidst Covid-19, Police Nab Atlantic City Drug Dealers A couple of drug dealers from Atlantic City were arrested on multiple drug charges, authorities said.  Both suspects had outstanding warrants, Barnegat police said. Members of Barnegat's Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) arrested Jennifer Colon, 46, and Julio Colon, 52, on multiple charges after stopping their vehicle on Ravenwood Boulevard on Friday.  Police recovered methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, methadone and marijuana, they said. Barnegat Police Chief Keith Germain praised his CRU members for continuing to carry out their mission in the throes of a pandemic. "For anyone who wo…

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by Jon Craig
News
Murphy, Grewal Slam Trenton Councilwoman For Homophobic Telephone Rant Against Mayor Murphy, Grewal Slam Trenton Councilwoman For Homophobic Telephone Rant Against Mayor
Murphy, Grewal Slam Trenton Councilwoman For Homophobic Telephone Rant Against Mayor A Trenton councilwoman's vulgar, homophobic telephone rant to the capital city's mayor and another councilman drew outrage from the state's top elected officials. Councilwoman Robin Vaughn, who represents Trenton's West Ward, exploded into a screaming 10-minute tirade Saturday during a conference call with other city officials about the coronavirus outbreak, according to multiple media reports. Vaughn called Mayor Reed Gusciora a “pedophile” and accused another city official of performing a sex act on Trenton’s first openly gay mayor. She also referred to him as a “woman” and a “bitch a**.”…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
19-Year-Old Bicyclist Holding Onto Window Of Moving Car Dies In Middlesex County Crash 19-Year-Old Bicyclist Holding Onto Window Of Moving Car Dies In Middlesex County Crash
19-Year-Old Bicyclist Holding Onto Window Of Moving Car Dies In Middlesex County Crash A 19-year-old bicyclist from Middlesex County was killed in a fatal weekend crash, authorities said. Christopher Pina of Spotswood was pronounced dead at the scene of Saturday night's crash, Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Christopher L.C. Kuberiet and Monroe Police Chief Michael J. Biennas said in a statement on Tuesday. Pina left a house at Avenue J in Monroe and was heading toward Avenue K Park when the accident occurred at 11:23 p.m., they said. While riding the bike, authorities said that Pina "latched onto the open passenger window of an acquaintance’s car." He lost con…

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by Jon Craig
News
More Than Half Of NJ's Coronavirus Deaths Reported At These Nursing Homes More Than Half Of NJ's Coronavirus Deaths Reported At These Nursing Homes
More Than Half Of NJ's Coronavirus Deaths Reported At These Nursing Homes More than half of the coronavirus fatalities reported in New Jersey are linked to nursing homes and longterm care facilities, state officials said Tuesday. More than 500 facilities have come under scrutiny after 4,151 fatalities of the state's 8,244 were reported at the homes, Gov. Phil Murphy said. (Click here for the list of nursing homes that reported coronavirus cases). Of the state's 130,593 positive tests, 22,602 were from those facilities, Murphy said. "We know the long-term care issues have been among our biggest challenges if not the biggest challenge,'' Gov. Phil Murphy…

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by Jon Craig
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