'Death Race' Trooper Gets Probation for Escorting Sports Cars

Another Trooper, a Bloomingdale resident, also agreed to forfeit job for role in Atlantic City caravan.

A New Jersey State Police sergeant has received probation for his role in the March 2012 unauthorized escort of a high-speed sports car caravan to Atlantic City. Sgt. First Class Nadir Nassry, 48, of Phillipsburg, pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree charge of tampering with records and received a judgment from Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Bradley J. Ferencz mandating one year of probation and 75 hours of community service.   Also facing charges is 29-year-old Joseph Ventrella, a seven-year state trooper from Bloomingdale, who reportedly was part of the caravan. In pleading guilty, Nassry admitted that he used black electrical tape to change the numbers on the license plates of his trooper car to conceal his participation in the …

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'Death Race' Troopers Criminally Charged

Attorney General's Office says troopers allegedly altered plates in high-speed escort.

Two New Jersey state troopers accused of leading a high-speed escort on the Garden State Parkway for a fleet of luxury cars have been criminally charged, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced. The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) received complaints regarding the March 2012 caravan to Atlantic City, and the troopers were subsequently suspended without pay in April. In a press conference in Trenton on Friday, Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said the troopers who conducted the unauthorized escort "turned our highway into a virtual speedway." "What they did was absolutely wrong," he said. An investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice into the incident found that the troopers, Sgt. First Class Nadir Nassry, 47, and Trooper…

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'Death Race' Troopers May Face Charges

Pair has been suspended since April while Attorney General's Office conducts investigation into high-speed escort.

The two state troopers allegedly involved in a high-speed luxury car escort down the Garden State Parkway in March could be criminally charged Friday and one of the troopers has resigned, according to NJ.com. New Jersey State Police Sgt. Nadir Nassry and Joseph Ventrella were suspended without pay in April, the Attorney General's Office has said. Ventrella was a member of the force for six years and was assigned to the Troop B Tactical Patrol Unit. Nassry, 47, of Phillipsburg, was a trooper of 25 years and was assigned to Totowa Station. NJ.com reported Thursday that the suspended troopers could face third- or fourth-degree criminal charges after they were allegedly caught on video camera escorting luxury cars to Atlantic City at a high …

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Report: NJSP Brass Moved After 'Death Race'

High-speed state police escort was witnessed by Madison resident and resulted in suspension of Bloomingdale trooper.

Ten New Jersey State Police commanders were reassigned last week in light of internal investigations, a state police spokesman told the Star-Ledger. The reassignments come as the police force is investigating reports that troopers escorted a speeding and weaving caravan of sports cars down the Garden State Parkway at the end of March and another time in 2010, but the connection between the reassignments and the speeding escort investigation, if any, was not known. The newspaper named a major and two captains whose reassignments triggered the shake-up, but did not know what role, if any, they might have had in the police escort for the speeding luxury cars, which one witness called "Death Race 2012." A state trooper from Bloomingdale was …

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NJSP: Laws Must Be Obeyed for Sports Car Escorts

Attorney for suspended trooper says escort OK, but maybe not alleged speeding, according to news report.

In the wake of reports of a high-speed state police escort of a group of luxury sports cars down the Garden State Parkway last month that was witnessed by a Madison resident and resulted in the suspension of two state troopers, state police said troopers theoretically could be authorized to escort a rally of sports cars if all laws were to be followed, according to an Associated Press story featured on NorthJersey.com. According to the story, state police do escorts for other agencies throughout the year, but all state laws are expected to be followed during approved escorts. Drivers of the vehicles in the March incident are being accused of driving in excess of 100 mph. An attorney for one of the suspended troopers said the escort was …

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Madison Man Saw 'Death Race,' Leaves It to Police

By reporting a state trooper-escorted caravan of sports cars, John Kennedy unwittingly became part of a national story.

Borough resident John Kennedy, one of two motorists who reported a high-speed, apparently state trooper-escorted caravan of sports cars on the Garden State Parkway at the end March, did not intend to be part of a national story. He just wanted authorities to be aware of what he saw. "My intent was to inform the State Police of my observation and not to be in the paper or any other news media," Kennedy said in an email. "I respect and trust the State Police to take care of the situation." But after his complaints were obtained by the Star-Ledger, Kennedy's name and report appeared in the newspaper's story about the caravan, dubbed "Death Race 2012" by Wayne Gantt, the other motorist who filed a complaint, according to the newspaper's report…

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Madison Resident's Complaint Leads to Investigation into 'Death Race'

Attorney General's office looking into allegations state troopers escorted caravan.