NJ assemblyman’s car stolen, house broken into

HAZLET, N.J. (PIX11) – Video from the home where a New Jersey assemblyman is currently living shows alleged burglars break into the home and speed away with his personal car – complete with State Assembly plates.

“The door was triple locked, all the windows were closed, we keep the keys in a box far away from the front door, and yet they were undeterred,” said Assemblyman Paul Kanitra (R-NJ 10 ^th District).

Kanitra was in Washington Tuesday night into Wednesday morning when the burglars broke into the home in Hazlet, owned by his mother-in-law, while she and Kanitra’s wife were sleeping. He said they were able to get inside by prying open a window.

“I may be a state assemblyman, but I’m a husband and I’m a man at the end of the day,” said Kanitra. “The feeling of helplessness — getting that call and knowing that my wife had been trying to get a hold of me and there were 20 missed calls while I was sleeping, wondering what actually had happened.”

He said the burglars were in the house for several minutes, finding his key fob in a box. Kanitra said police have since recovered his car in New York.

Neighbors in the West Keansburg section of Hazlet were startled to see such a brazen act in their community.

“It’s very alarming,” said 30-year resident Dawn Keefe. “Scary. Very scary. You never know. You never know what’s going on in your town anymore.”

“I think it’s scary. I think it’s bad,” said resident Carly Pado. “People need to start protecting their stuff more. This started happening a lot within the last few years. I don’t remember it always being this bad, but now it’s getting really bad.”

According to Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro, there have been 11,278 cars stolen in New Jersey so far this year. He said that’s down around 12% compared to this time last year.

New Jersey is currently averaging around 40 stolen vehicles per day.

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