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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

News
Plane Careens Off Runway At Monmouth Jet Center Plane Careens Off Runway At Monmouth Jet Center
Plane Careens Off Runway At Monmouth Jet Center A small jet slid off the runway at Monmouth Jet Center in Wall late Tuesday night, police said. The Learjet 55 landing after a trip from Richmond, Va., had five people aboard.  It continued off the end of the runway and down an embankment into the grass after touching down just before midnight, authorities said.  Neither the two pilots nor the three passengers were hurt at the center, also known as Monmouth County Airport, Wall police said.

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
VIDEO: Belmar Police Write 25 Tickets At Muscle Car 'Meet-Up' VIDEO: Belmar Police Write 25 Tickets At Muscle Car 'Meet-Up'
Video: Belmar Police Write 25 Tickets At Muscle Car 'Meet-Up'  When dozens of car drivers "showed off" in front of the fans in Belmar, police responded by ticketing at least 25 motorists for violations -- including parking tickets. Monday night’s car meet was the second impromptu event this year in Belmar.  Videos and photos shows hundreds of attendees and dozens of cars crowded around the 7-Eleven on Ocean Avenue at the beach, with cars bumping up and down and burning tire rubber. In January, a similar car meet-up drew a large police presence and tickets were written for violations of local and motor-vehicle laws. A sports car "meet-up" on Ocea…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Contractor Faces 10 Years In Prison For Stealing $122K From Asbury Park Widow Contractor Faces 10 Years In Prison For Stealing $122K From Asbury Park Widow
Contractor Faces 10 Years In Prison For Stealing $122K From Asbury Park Widow A contractor has been arrested for stealing more than $122,000 from the widow of a man who perished in the fire which burned down their home in Asbury Park, authorities said. The widow, who was only able to escape the fire after jumping from a balcony, had paid the contractor to rebuild her home, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said. The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, with the assistance of the Asbury Park Police, arrested Alfredo “Fred” Abascal, 59, of Washington Township in Warren County, on Monday, charging him with one count of second-degree theft by deceptio…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Shrewsbury Man Admits Sexual Assault Of 7 Pre-Teen Children Shrewsbury Man Admits Sexual Assault Of 7 Pre-Teen Children
Shrewsbury Man Admits Sexual Assault Of 7 Pre-Teen Children A Shrewsbury man admitted on Tuesday that he sexually assaulted seven juvenile victims -- all under the age of 13 -- between 2008 and 2018, authorities said, and now faces 18 years in state prison. Victor Mejia-Salinas, 46, of Shrewsbury, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual Assault, three counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said. The charges stem from three separate indictments that resulted from joint investigations by the Monmo…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Teenage Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Train In Edison UPDATE: Teenage Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Train In Edison
Update: Teenage Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Train In Edison This story has been updated. Emergency crews responded to a report of a pedestrian hit by a train in Edison. Local firefighters were called about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to assist with lighting to help New Jersey Transit police in their investigation. Additional details were not immediately available. The accident occurred about 6:45 p.m. near Route 27 and Parsonage Road in Edison, according to initial reports. The train was headed to Trenton from New York Penn Station, transit officials said.  Service along the Northeast Corridor line resumed with hour-long delays as of 8 p.m., authoriti…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Probation Officer Admits Extorting Sex From Woman, Faces 10 Years In Prison Probation Officer Admits Extorting Sex From Woman, Faces 10 Years In Prison
Probation Officer Admits Extorting Sex From Woman, Faces 10 Years In Prison A 48-year-old probation officer admitted to sexually assaulting a woman he supervised while she was in drug court and threatening to send her to jail. Henry C. Cirignano of Wall Township, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault by coercion and one count of official misconduct during a hearing in Superior Court of Ocean County in Toms River before Judge Wendel E. Daniels. Monmouth County prosecutors recommend Cirignano spend up to 10 years in state prison for official misconduct when he is sentenced on April 17.  His plea deal with the prosecutor’s office calls for him to forf…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Howell Man Faces 10 Years In State Prison On Child Pornography Charge Howell Man Faces 10 Years In State Prison On Child Pornography Charge
Howell Man Faces 10 Years In State Prison On Child Pornography Charge A national CyberTip has led to the arrest of a 54-year-old man for possession of child pornography, authorities said. William Whesper of Tyrpak Road in Howell was charged with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child for possession of child pornography, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said. If convicted of the second-degree offense, Whesper faces up to 10 years New Jersey State Prison. He also will be subject to Megan’s Law and Parole Supervision for Life, Gramiccioni said. After receiving a CyberTip from the National Center for Missin…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Fake $100 Bill Passed For Gas In South Brunswick Fake $100 Bill Passed For Gas In South Brunswick
Fake $100 Bill Passed For Gas In South Brunswick A clerk at a Middlesex County gas station mistakenly accepted a phony $100 bill that was intended to be used in movies, authorities said. Police on Monday tweeted a photo of the front and back of the fake currency, which has the words -- “For Motion Picture Use Only” -- printed on both sides and reportedly was spent by an unidentified man from Montgomery. "SERIOUSLY....this is the fake $100 dollar bill a suspect passed at a local gas station," South Brunswick police posted on Twitter. South Brunswick detectives tracked down a 20-year-old Somerset County man who said he was surprised the cl…

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by Jon Craig
Business
New Trader Joe's Coming To Freehold New Trader Joe's Coming To Freehold
New Trader Joe's Coming To Freehold There's a glimmer of good news on the retail circuit: A new Trader Joe's wholesale grocery store is coming to Route 9 in Freehold this year.  Other tenants at Pond Road Plaza include DSW, Michael’s and Petco. The Trader Joe's store is expected to move into 12,588-square-feet of vacated space previously occupied by Walgreens. The pharmacy closed in 2015. It was previously reported the company was interested in expanding into the Monmouth County town as early as the fall. Trader Joe's already operates a store on Broad Street in Shrewsbury.

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by Jon Craig
Obituaries
37-Year-Old Accident Victim, 'Big Mike' Severin, Father Of 2 Young Daughters 37-Year-Old Accident Victim, 'Big Mike' Severin, Father Of 2 Young Daughters
37-Year-Old Accident Victim, 'Big Mike' Severin, Father Of 2 Young Daughters Michael J. Severin of Barnegat loved hunting and the outdoors. But more than anything, his wife and two daughters were his world. Severin, 37, died Saturday in a single-car accident in Eagleswood.  He was born on Nov. 20, 1982, in Point Pleasant and grew up in Brick. He worked for Ocean County Utilities Authority in West Creek. He was actively involved in the Free Masons and his union.  "Big Mike" as he was known to friends and family is survived by his wife, Jennifer; their daughters Liliana, who is four and Adalina, who is two; his parents, Leonard and Joan Severin; two b…

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by Jon Craig
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