ALARMING LETTER
FROM A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF NEW LISBON

On April 7, 1975, Steven Anderson, 17, and David Williams, 12, disappeared from a sprawling residential facility now known as the New Lisbon Developmental Center in Woodland Township, Burlington County.

"Many search efforts were done, but they were unable to find anyone," Detective Paul Vanaman of the state Department of Human Services police told NBC10.

New resources and expertise prompted authorities to re-trace the steps of the original investigators as well as run additional tests in the hopes of uncovering new information. But FBI Special Agent John Mesisca said investigators also hope to find new witnesses from long ago as well.

"Memories fade. Witnesses die off," Mesisca said. "[But] it could just be that one phone call, that one bit of information that leads to a conclusion in this case."

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call the Atlantic City Resident Agency of the Newark Office of the FBI at 609-677-6400 or their nearest FBI Office. Tips can also be submitted online. Updated at 12:13 AM EST on Nov 22, 2017

November 21, 2017[WORKER ALLEGES HARRASMENT AT NEW LISBON FACILITY]  CAMDEN - Administrators at the New Lisbon Developmental Center allegedly moved a worker accused of offensive conduct “from building to building so that he can sexually harass his next victim,” a federal lawsuit claims. Shontrell Coleman, a 16-year employee at New Lisbon, says she repeatedly complained to superiors about the alleged behavior of a co-worker, Ralph Kardio, at the Woodland, Burlington County facility. She contends his harassing behavior, which included “unwelcomed sexual comments” and alleged demands for kisses, began “almost immediately” after Kardio began work at New Lisbon in 2006. Among other claims, the lawsuit alleges Kardio would touch Coleman inappropriately and once took her phone without permission so he could put his number in it. The suit also contends Kardio in February “cornered (Coleman) in the woman’s break room and told her that the only way she could leave was if she gave him a kiss.” It says another employee “fortunately” entered the room and Coleman “was able to free herself.” Kardio, who is not named as a defendant, could not be reached for comment.

Both Coleman and Kardio are cottage training technicians at the residential center, according to the lawsuit. The center is run by the Department of Human Services for people with developmental disabilities. A representative of the state Attorney General’s Office, which will defend the suit, declined to comment Monday.

According to the suit, Coleman complained “on multiple occasions” to an immediate supervisor about Kardio’s conduct, but New Lisbon’s management “failed to take any remedial action or investigate.” The suit said Coleman's complaint over the alleged break-room incident was referred to a higher-level administrator, Hope Cheeks. It contends Cheeks told Coleman “this is his reputation” and said she would speak with Kardio. The suit alleges Kardio continued his harassment “the very next day” by inappropriately touching Coleman.

According to the suit, Cheeks later told Coleman that Kardio had acknowledged his behavior in a conversation. Cheeks also said she could take no corrective action other than making Kardio work in a different part of the building or changing his shift. “However, Ms. Cheeks did not change Mr. Kardio’s shift and he continued to work in (Coleman’s) building,” the suit alleges.

It says Kardio was moved to a building “across the street” after Coleman filed a complaint with the agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity office.

The suit says New Lisbon still employs Kardio despite a “zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment."

It says the decision to move Kardio to a new workplace "did not negate the fact that (Coleman) was subjected to a hostile work environment." It also asserted New Lisbon's administratiors ignored Coleman's complaints "and failed to properly remedy her concerns.” The suit alleges Kardio “had a lengthy reputation of sexually harassing women in the workplace and has sexually harassed women more than once while working with the state of New Jersey.”

It also also says Coleman was removed from duty one morning after an argument with another worker about Kardio. Coleman was required to have sensitivity training after that incident, it adds.

The suit, filed Friday in federal court in Camden, seeks an order requiring New Lisbon to prohibit sexual harassment against its workers. It also asks a judge to bar retaliation against anyone complaining of harassment at the complex.

It seeks unspecified damages for Coleman’s “pain, suffering and humiliation,” as well as her legal expenses. -- Jim Walsh; @jwalsh_cp; 856-486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com

Feb 25, 2014 [MISSING NEW LISBON DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER RESIDENT FOUND IN FOREST CABIN]  A 32-year-old resident of the New Lisbon Developmental Center was hospitalized Sunday night after he went missing for several hours before being found in the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest. The resident was reported missing from the state-run facility’s Route 72 campus about 5:30 p.m., said Pamela Ronan, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Human Services. New Jersey State Police and Human Services authorities located the man just before midnight in a
cabin in the state park. (Burlington County Times, Staff Writer, Lisa Irizarry)

November 20, 2013 [DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER RESIDENT CHARGED WITH FORK STABBING] A 27-year-old
woman who is a resident of the New Lisbon Developmental Center in Woodland was arrested for allegedly repeatedly stabbing an unidentified person at the state-run facility with a fork Saturday when she learned she could not go home for Thanksgiving. Robin Cross was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert, ordered Cross to have no contact with the victim, who allegedly was stabbed multiple times in the face, head and hand. (Burlington County Times, Staff Writer, Lisa Irizarry)

April 05, 2012 [NEW LISBON EMPLOYEES CHARGED WITH STEALING VOUCHERS FROM PATIENTS]
Two employees of the New Lisbon Developmental Center in Woodland Township were indicted on March 27 by a Burlington County Grand Jury for redeeming department store vouchers that belonged to the developmentally disabled patients under their care, Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi announced. Nuedah E. Wesley, 38, of Roanoke Court in Willingboro, and Bettie S. Lovett, 61, of Seneca Trail in Pemberton Township, were each indicted on one count of second degree official misconduct, one count of third degree theft by deception, one count of third degree theft of property lost or mislaid and one count of fourth degree conspiracy, officials said. According to the prosecutor’s office, Wesley and Lovett made purchases for four New Lisbon patients with the patients’ money at the Kohl’s in Westampton between mid-December 2011 and early January 2012. The purchases earned $220 in “Kohl’s Cash,” which are vouchers that can be used to buy items at the store at a future time. New Lisbon policy mandates that any such vouchers be turned over to the business office for future use by the patients who paid for the purchase, officials said. According to authorities, Wesley and Lovett, direct care workers at the facility, redeemed the Kohl’s Cash to buy items for personal use. Both have been suspended without pay from New Lisbon, officials said. The case was investigated by the New Jersey Department of Human Services Police. New Lisbon Developmental Center is a residential, state-run facility that provides care to about 400 individuals with developmental disabilities.(THE CENTRAL NEWS - South Jersey Local News)

September 22, 2011 [ IN LAWSUIT, FAMILY OF MAN WHO FROZE TO DEATH CLAIMS NEW LISBON DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER WAS NEGLIGENT]  The sister of a man with developmental disabilities who froze to death while under the care of a public institution has filed a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit against the state for subjecting him to conditions "unacceptable in any civilized society.’’ When James Hollis Jr. arrived at a nearby hospital from the New Lisbon Developmental Center in Burlington County on the morning of Dec. 11, 2009, his body temperature was 84 degrees, according to the lawsuit. His left hip and several ribs were broken and he was unable to stand. The Orange native died that afternoon. "Joyce placed him in a facility where she trusted he would be safe. He needed to be supervised and managed, and he wasn’t given the care he needed. Instead he was neglected and abused and not given any humane care," Nancy Winkler of Cherry Hill, the attorney representing Hollis’ sister and guardian, Joyce C. Manley of Saint Cloud, Fla. A spokesman for the state Attorney General’s office, declined to comment on the case, which was filed in Camden County last week. The lawsuit also recounts New Lisbon’s troubled history over the last decade, when it became the target of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice following reports of homicides and assaults. In 2004, the state agreed a federal monitor would check in to determine whether residents were safe and their rights protected. The monitoring ended in 2009. The lawsuit alleges the facility failed to provide Hollis with adequate medical care, and proper training and supervision of its employees. "This is really a strong civil rights action,’’ Winkler said. "This is a situation where he suffered at the hands of people ... at a facility that was supposed to protect him so he could live as normal a life as possible. (The Star-Ledger, Susan Livio)

November 17, 2009 [CHOKING DEATH AT BURLINGTON COUNTY DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY FACILITY] Whether a family decides to place a loved one in a nursing home, a developmental disability facility, or any other professional or medical center, the choice to trust that other people will provide your loved one with the attention, treatment, and care they need and deserve can often be difficult and even emotional. When this trust is breached and wrongful death takes place at such facilities, the consequences can be devastating for a family to endure, and frequently leaves those involved with many questions, particularly whether or not negligence or wrongdoing led to the death taking place. According to an article from nj.com, an employee at the New Lisbon Developmental Center in Pemberton Township, Burlington County, has been put on unpaid leave after the choking death of one of the patients under the caretaker’s observation. A spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services stated that the deceased man choked on a sandwich and had lived at the facility for almost 20 years. The New Lisbon facility is one of seven New Jersey-run centers that provide care for individuals with developmental disabilities such as cerebral palsy and autism. What many residents may not know, however, is that the Burlington County facility has a history of problems that led the Department of Justice to open its own investigation in 2002. The state even agreed in 2004 to the independent monitoring of practices at the New Lisbon center for a span of four years, which was later extended one more year, which ended in August. Although the Department of Human Services has not said whether the employee in question is considered negligent and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have not commented whether the agency will conduct an investigation, considering the history of the facility where the resident died, the chance that negligence contributed to the death is an unfortunate likelihood. (Posted bt the law firn, Lependorf & Silverstein )

June 23, 2002[ USE OF RESTRAINTS COMES UNDER SCRUTINY AT NEW LISBON]  [A man's arms and legs were bound, to punish him after he slammed doors and damaged property at the New Lisbon Developmental Center, not for the good of the resident, but for the convenience of the staff. The state stepped in.] The state's action follows inspections by federal regulators at five of the state's seven developmental centers over the last 18 months, which found that neglect and short-staffing were threatening the health and safety of residents. The problems were so serious at the Woodbridge and New Lisbon developmental centers that regulators are moving to terminate $73 million in Medicaid funds. The state is appealing. Ethan Ellis, the executive director of the New Jersey Disabilities Council, said the federal surveys "confirm long-standing concerns advocates have had that restraints have been used indiscriminately, not for the benefit of the person receiving them but for the convenience of the staff." Last year, 212 of the 3,400 disabled people who live in state centers were restrained 3,100 times with devices that limited the movement of the hands, arms, legs or head, according to reports that the centers are required to file with the Department of Human Services. The six private, state-licensed centers reported using mechanical restraints on 73 of 3,200 people in 2,300 episodes last year. (Star-Ledger Staff, by Susan Livio)

JULY 27, 1993[RESIDENT DIES IN POLICE CAR FROM HEAT EXPOSURE]  The temperature Saturday in the pinelands of Woodland Township, Burlington County, was climbing steadily toward a high of 88 degrees - the kind of day that can turn a closed car into an oven. On that morning, John Episcopo, 27, found himself in the unlocked back seat of a police car parked outside the unstaffed police station on the grounds of the state's New Lisbon Training Center, where Episcopo lived with 700 other developmentally disabled residents. Investigators assume he got into the car himself. The car's windows were rolled shut all around. There were no door or window handles inside the back seat, and there was a heavy screen between the front and back seats. Once the door closed behind him, some time after 10:45 a.m., Episcopo, a mildly retarded man who has lived in state institutions since 1986, could not escape. Twelve hours later, Episcopo's bloodied body was found, caged in the patrol car's back seat. His injuries may have come from a struggle for freedom, state police said. The Burlington County Medical Examiner, in preliminary findings Sunday, said the cause of death was asphyxiation. It also noted that Episcopo had suffered from a "seizure disorder" that could have been triggered by being locked in the hot patrol car. Yesterday, the state Human Services Department, which runs the New Lisbon facility, was altering the department's police patrol cars "so they can be locked to prevent this from ever happening again," said Norman Reim, a Human Services spokesman. (Philidelphia Enquire, Staff writer, Douglas A. Campbell