New Jersey - BERKELEY HEIGHTS -- Transient Motorcycle gang members attended Feast of Mt. Carmel in Berkeley Heights

OFF THE WIRE
http://www.nj.com/independentpress/index.ssf/2011/02/transient_motorcycle_gang_memb.html
BERKELEY HEIGHTS -- The NJ State Police Street Gang Survey is causing quite a stir in Berkeley Heights after it was reported that 32 gxxg members were present in the township. The finding prompted Mayor Joe Bruno to dig deeper for an explanation into the alleged gxxg activity.


Today Union County Prosecutor Ted Romankow issued a statement explaining that the reported gxxg activity was only "transient" and that members of the Pagan and Hell's Angels motorcycle clubs, who had attended Berkeley Heights annual Feast of Mt. Carmel, were included in the count. " There should be no tangible cause for alarm regarding the motorcycle gxxg members since they were in and out of Berkeley Heights on the same evening," he said. Romankow said that there are only three verified gxxg members that have been identified in Berkeley Heights. His full statement is below.

To the Editor:
Late last month the New Jersey State Police released its survey on the number of criminal gxxg members in our state. While the numbers were slightly increased since the last survey in 2007, Union County remained largely the same.
However for those who looked closely at the numbers, they likely saw a surprising detail from Berkeley Heights, in that the police reported 32 gxxg members in town. Residents were shocked to see that number and I immediately asked both the New Jersey State Police and the Berkeley Heights Police Department for an explanation.
The State Police requested the number of "transient" gang members in Berkeley Heights. The municipal officer who responded to the survey included those motorcycle gxxg members who attended annual Feast of Mount Carmel in the official response. These gxxg members were affiliated with the Pagan and Hell's Angels motorcycle groups. They do not live nor work in Berkeley Heights. Even though the officer complied with the technical definition of transient gxxg member, the reality is there are only three verified gxxg members in town.
There should be no tangible cause for alarm regarding the motorcycle gxxg mebers since they were in and out of Berkeley Heights on the same evening.
It should also be pointed out that Mount Carmel provided appropriate security for the feast and worked closely with several law enforcement agencies to provide safety for everyone. To my knowledge there was never any threat or incidents that would cause alarm or reason not to attend the feast in the future.
The tough reality is that there are three known gxxg members in Berkeley Heights and the Police Department as well as my Office is aware of their presence. New Providence, by comparison, has one verified gxxg member.
Unfortunately this is not unique for our state where gxxg members were reported in each of the 21 counties.
My office and the police departments are keenly aware of these criminal threats and committed to keep the residents of all Union County municipalities safe through a combination of smart policing, intelligence gathering and plans of action.

http://www.nj.com/independentpress/index.ssf/2011/02/transient_motorcycle_gang_memb.html