Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 7

www.app.com page at Fort Monmouth closing rationale on hearing agenda House panel scheduled to examine BRAG decision at Dec. 12 meeting Monmouth, its exemplary work force and its critical missions in front of a key committee that can effect a change of course," said Rep. Christopher H. Smith, Rep. Frank J.

Pallone said he is pleased that the hearing was set before year's end. "We're obviously happy because I think it's important that this take place in December, before Congress finishes at the end of the year," Pallone said. "We didn't want it to go on until January." And Rep. Rush D. Holt, said the hearing should be a "skeptical look at BRAC, about how the process failed and is still failing, with Fort Monmouth as a good case in point." Bill Bowman: (732) 643-4212 or Keith Brown: (732) 643-4076 or kbrowMaapp.com By BILL BOWMAN and KEITH BROWN STAFF WRITERS The process that led to the decision to close Fort Monmouth will be among the topics discussed at an oversight hearing of the House Armed Services Committee readiness subcommittee, tentatively scheduled for Dec.

12. said the date is tentative because the committee has not yet finished its work with the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill. The bill is the panel's primary responsibility. The hearing originally was scheduled for November but was postponed because of the ongoing work on the authoriza begin at 10 a.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building.

This round of base closings is the largest of its kind attempted by the U.S. military. An ongoing Asbury Park Press investigation has revealed that the estimated cost to close Fort Monmouth has increased from $780 million in 2005 to $1.5 billion in the summer of this year. The cost of the overall Base Rea lignment and Closure commission's round of closings has jumped about $10 billion in that time frame. Shore-area legislators, who have launched a reinvigorated effort to remove Fort Monmouth from the Pentagon's closure lists, said they welcomed the hearing.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity to advocate for Fort tion bill. A committee spokesperson The hearing is scheduled to WEDNESDAY, NOV. 28, 2007 ASBURY PARK PRESS Study group considers nonlethal weapons State securing vehicle titles ons were Manchester Police Chief William Brase and his department's Capt Brian Klimakowski, who had deployed such weapons in the field but dropped the practice while Milgram awaited the panel's report "These weapons are no different than the batons we carry today," Klimakowski told the from trouble. New Jersey is the only state that bans the use of these weapons, unless an officer or a colleague is in a life-and-death confrontation. In such a situation, officers have the choice of using lethal or nonlethal force.

"Things can go bad very, very quickly," Celeste said. He said panel. "This (the weapon) enables an officer to keep that standoff distance." The Manchester officers later showed reporters an array of nonlethal arms, including a that "medical attention has to follow immediately" for someone felled by a bean bag or other projectile. The panel will compose a report for Mil-gram, who will pro By TOM BALDWIN GANNETT STATE BUREAU LAWRENCE New Jersey is exploring ways that police can use nonlethal weapons, and testimony at a public hearing Tuesday that they would safeguard police and suspects weighed heavily in their favor. "All these things clearly have to be well-thought out," said Richard Celeste, director of the Somerset County Police Academy, addressing state Attorney General Anne Milgram's advisory group on the issue, which was holding its first public meeting.

Celeste discussed using a bean bag-type of projectile, fired from a shotgun, that expands and flattens like a sponge before it hits someone. The panel heard that nonlethal weapons are useful in dealing with mentally disturbed or drunken people, as well as in riots, inmate rebellions, standoffs and hostage-takings and have the advantage of allowing police to keep a safe distance By LARRY HIGGS STAFF WRITER Life just got tougher for the bad guys who use fake motor vehicle titles and temporary license plates to conceal stolen cars. New, more secure vehicle titles and temporary tags were unveiled Tuesday at the Jersey City Police Academy by the state Motor Vehicle Commission, where about 75 police officers were gathered to learn how to detect fraudulent motor vehicle documents. "These are documents that criminals counterfeit and covet," said Sharon Harrington, commission chief administrator. The new purple vehicle titles will be introduced Jan.

2 and have security features to alert authorities that one has been duplicated, Harrington said "It makes it harder to wash titles for stolen vehicles," she said. The current pink titles, however, are still valid, Harrington said. New temporary plates also will be phased in Jan. 1 and will replace as of May 2008 the existing paper license plates placed in the back window of new or used vehicles by dealers. The new temporary tag will be printed on security paper and contains features to deter people from altering the expiration date, Harrington said.

The new titles use some of the same security features as paper money, said John San-tana, commission spokesman. The word "Void" will appear if the title is photocopied, he said. Among the more sophisticated security features on the new title is a circle in the upper left-hand corner with the letters NJ inside, which fades under the heat of a thumb and then returns when it cools. "This is a long time coming," said Bob Oras, Jersey City Police Academy director, who added that fake motor vehicle documents provide a gateway for criminals to obtain credit cards and to commit other forms of identify theft. About 75 police officers from Jersey City and other Hudson County towns were being trained how to spot fake motor vehicle documents.

Police in other towns will be trained as well, Oras said. "This gives us better tools to identify, verify, confiscate and arrest those who use fraudulent documents," he said. "These are state of the art." Oras said that motor vehicle document fraud is more prevalent than the public thinks. Drivers will buy temporary tags from unscrupulous dealers to conceal a stolen vehicle or to avoid detection if they don't have insurance, motor vehicle officials said. launcher that can fire rubber, tear gas and foam.

Deputy Attorney General William Zaorski, who has studied a variety of nonlethal ways for police to disable suspects, testified, "We are not in the killing business. We are in the controlling business." He called the weapons a "safe alternative" to deadly force. duce guidelines for using such weapons. Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan, a panel member, said, "When an officer fires, other officers, by instinct, fire," moving Celeste to say that a nonlethal firing would sound different from a deadly round. But Celeste added, "This is not a perfect system." Two others favoring the weap Conviction overturned due to polygraph test By MICHAEL RISPOLI GANNETT STATE BUREAU Of the 3,000 customers and employees arrested and charged with some form of fraud or trafficking in Motor Vehicle documents, 7 percent faced charges directly related to document fraud, Harrington said.

"Security is the cornerstone of our reform," Harrington said. "It is among our most important activity." She also urged not letting the $7 security fee expire in 2013, which is part of the legislation that created the commission in 2003. Office spokeswoman Eileen Walsh said the office would be appealing the decision, but would not comment further on the court's decision. The ruling could have statewide implications. In a separate opinion that concurred with the main 34-page decision.

Appellate Judge Harvey Weissbard urged the state Supreme Court to "take the next, logical step, barring the use of polygraph evidence entirely." Weissbard said the problem with a polygraph is "not just that it is unreliable, but so inherently prejudicial." Michael Rispoli: failed test, but the daughter recanted her accusation before reaffirming it a year later. Since the reliability of polygraph tests is still debated in the scientific field, the appellate court found it "fundamentally unfair to permit an uncounseled defendant to stake his fate on what may be the equivalent of a coin toss." "Because the polygraph evidence may well have made the difference between conviction and acquittal in this case, the conviction must be reversed and the matter remanded for retrial," wrote Appellate Judge Susan Resiner in the court's opinion. Union County Prosecutor's TRENTON A New Jersey appellate court on Tuesday reversed the sexual molestation conviction of a Union County man due to the unreliability of a lie detector test given to him before he was charged with the crime. The defendant, known as A.O. in court documents, was convicted of sexually assaulting his girlfriend's 9-yearold daughter in 2001.

The prosecution's case relied heavily upon A.O.'s failed polygraph test, which he took after the allegations were lodged, without a defense attorney involved. A.O. was arrested and charged after the I 0 Good news. Holiday sales are projected to be 5 higher than last year's. And with a powerful mix of print, online, and targeted opportunities, the Asbury Park Press reaches the shoppers you need.

They're out there now, so don't wait place your ads today. And with nearly 80 of shoppers not finishing until just before Christmas, be sure to run your ads all the way through the season. FREE SHIPPING on The Slide and Negative to Digital Picture Converter when you order by December 16, 2007. This device converts old 35mm slides and film negatives into digital images, allowing you to easily preserve your memories without having to rely on a conversion service. Slides and negatives are placed into a tray that aligns each properly; the touch of a button scans the image instantly.

It has a 5MP CMOS sensor that provides 10 bits per color channel for data conversion and uses fixed focus and automatic exposure control and color balance, resulting in clear digital images without loss of quality. It can scan images up to 1,800 dpi and uses three white LEDs as a back light source. For photo transfers and power, it has a USB cable that plugs into a PC running Windows XP and includes software that allows you to edit, crop, and resize your slides as well as convert your negatives into positives. 3:" 3j" D. (1 lb.) Item 74083 $99.95 Call toll-free 1-800-543-3366 or visit www.hammacher.comslide.

Use code 500361. Lifetime Guarantee of Complete Satisfaction. America's Longest Running Catalog Ilammachcr Sclilcmmcr Offering the Best, the Only and the Unexpected for 159 Years The Asbury Park Press. We don't just wish you a happy holiday. We deliver one.

Call 732-643-3700 to place your ads today and ring up holiday sales. ASBURY PARK PRESS Tits Mfces i ifftraw ifM RESEARCH SOURCE: Notional Rated Federation (NRF); oVrved from S. Deportment of Commerce data. Conjumer data conducted 2005 by BIGreteoreh for NRF..