NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Judge Bradley Ferencz acquitted two men convicted of failing to report the thefts of their fellow employees at the New Brunswick Parking Authority on May 16.

But the county prosecutor’s office tells NewBrunswickToday.com that it will appeal the judge’s decision.

“Given that the jury found the defendants guilty, we disagree with the judge’s decision, and our office is filing an appeal,” said Andrew Carey, the new Middlesex County Prosecutor.

According to the Home News Tribune’s Bob Makin, “Ferencz reasoned that the duties of Emil Hanna, 57, and Emad Naguib, 50, both of Old Bridge, did not include a requirement to police their colleagues. While their title was security guard, their duties were as property concierges, the judge said.”

“I’m very, very happy,” Hanna told the Home News. “The judge is a very honorable man.”

Hanna and Naguib were acquitted on Jan. 28 of a dozen other charges, including theft. They were among six former Parking Authority employees charged with various crimes, two of whom implicated Hanna and Naguib as part of a plea agreement.

There is still one trial remaining in the scandal, as well as the appeal in Hanna’s and Naguib’s case.  The trial of Lawrence Sorbino, who supervised the security guards, is set to begin with jury selection on July 1 in Middlesex County Superior Court.

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.