Biden Shuts Down Second Wilmington Property for Drug and Vice Crime

Wilmington, DE – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that a second Wilmington property
has been ordered shut down under Delaware’s Nuisance Abatement Act. At a hearing today in
Superior Court a residential property at 303 North Broom Street in Wilmington’s Hilltop neighborhood
was declared the site of drug and vice crime and was ordered closed by court order.
“For the second time in less than a month, we have taken action to make our community safer,”
said Attorney General Joseph R. Biden, III. “We’re pleased that Judge Cooch imposed the conditions
we sought and that the property will be shut down. The Delaware Department of Justice will continue
to aggressively take action against property owners anywhere in our State who allow crime to flourish
and bring down the quality of life.”
The Department of Justice argued that the property has been the site of regular drug activity,
including multiple incidents that involved juveniles. Large amounts of illegal drugs have been seized
on the premises, as well as weapons and ammunition. Following today’s Superior Court proceeding,
Resident Judge Richard Cooch agreed with the Department of Justice that the property presented an
immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare and ordered that it be shut down until a
permanent hearing is held. Moreover, the property’s owners have been ordered to have only policesupervised
contact with the premises.
In August, 2007 Attorney General Biden launched a statewide effort to combat crime in
Delaware under the state’s newly enhanced Drug Nuisance and Social Vices Abatement Act. Under
the statute, enforcement actions can take a variety of forms, including closure of a property. Today’s
ruling marks the fourth time that the Department of Justice has used this statute to secure the closure of
a property by court order. Most recently, on June 2, 2008, a property in Wilmington’s Canby Park
neighborhood was ordered shuttered immediately and its owner was required to vacate the premises.
The Delaware Department of Justice identifies nuisance properties up and down
Delaware through its own investigations and cooperation with state and local police agencies, local
authorities, civic associations, and neighborhood residents. Since August, 2007, the Department has
issued more than 35 written notices to property owners in all three counties. These notices state that a
nuisance exists on the property and give owners the choice of voluntarily cooperating to clean up the
illegal activity, or defending themselves in court and being forced to clean up the crime by court order.
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ATTORNEY GENERAL BIDEN WELCOMES SUMMER LAW CLERKS AND INTERNS

Wilmington, DE – Attorney General Beau Biden welcomes eight law school students to the Delaware
Department of Justice as Summer Law Clerks and two additional students who will work at the
Department this summer through competitive internship programs. The Summer Law Clerk program
affords the students the opportunity to gain broad public service experience by working in both the Civil
and Criminal Divisions at the Department of Justice. Their duties will include assisting Deputy
Attorneys General in hearings and trials, completing research projects, preparing briefs, writing memos,
and a variety of other tasks reflecting the day-to-day experiences of Department of Justice attorneys.
Qualified Clerks will also be assigned to prosecute minor misdemeanor criminal cases.
“I admire the early commitment to public service this year’s diverse group of students has demonstrated,
and I am proud to welcome them to the Delaware Department of Justice this summer,” stated Attorney
General Joseph R. Biden, III.
2008 Summer Law Clerks
Lauren Cristiano is a 2nd year law student at Widener University School of Law, Wilmington,
Delaware; B.A. in Psychology from Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts.
Sona Kim is a 2nd year law student at University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania; B.A. in History from University of Pennsylvania.
Kristina Larry is a 2nd year law student at Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern
University, Houston, Texas; B.A. in Psychology from University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming.
Michael Morenilla is a 2nd year law student at University of Alabama School of Law, Tuscaloosa,
Alabama; B.A in Business Administration from University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Mitesh Patel is a 2nd year law student at Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, Delaware;
B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Samuel Pratcher is a 2nd year law student at Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Grand Rapids,
Michigan; B.S. in Political Science from Hampton University, Hampton Virginia.
Stephen Spence is a 2nd year law student at Widener University School of Law, Wilmington,
Delaware; B.A. in Political Science from University of Delaware.
Eric Zubrow is a 2nd year law student at Temple University Beasley School of Law, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; B.A. in Communications from University of Pennsylvania.
University of Delaware Jim Soles Summer Internship
David Giattino is a 2008 graduate from the University of Delaware; Honors Bachelor of Science in
Economics, Honors Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He will intern with the Department and
with Chancery Court this summer.
Janet B. Steiger Fellowship Intern
Tiffany Malkoski is a 2nd year law student at Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania; B.A. in Economics from Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts. She will intern
in the Fraud Division this summer.
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Biden Expands Community Prosecution Throughout New Castle County

Wilmington, DE – Attorney General Beau Biden announced that the Delaware Department of Justice
is expanding its community prosecution program throughout New Castle County after a successful
start in the Southbridge section of Wilmington in 2007. The program, a complement to community
policing, opens the channels of communication between prosecutors, police, and the public to target
the worst offenders and address the issues most important to specific communities.
“Community prosecution works,” Attorney General Biden stated. “By assigning prosecutors to
specific neighborhoods and building ongoing relationships with community members, civic
organizations, and local police we’ll be able to proactively identify the worst offenders, focus our
prosecutions on taking these criminals off the streets, and make our communities safer as a result.”
Under the expanded initiative, thirty-seven prosecutors have been assigned to six teams
covering designated sections of New Castle County. The teams will coordinate prosecutions in their
assigned geographical area. Each prosecutor assigned to a team has a particular area of expertise, with
most teams containing at least one prosecutor focusing on drugs, misdemeanors, domestic violence,
juvenile crime, and violent crime. Additionally, community prosecutors will work closely with the
Delaware Department of Justice Nuisance Abatement team that targets properties where drug and other
vice crime is allowed to flourish.
Community prosecutors meet regularly with community police officers, residents, community
leaders and organizations, business owners, local officials and other concerned parties to identify “hot
zones” of criminal activity and the worse criminal offenders in the area. Regular meetings with
community members will also provide ongoing opportunities for the Department of Justice to share
information with the community and address its specific concerns.
Information about the Delaware Department of Justice Community Prosecution teams for New
Castle County and their contact information is available to the public on the Department’s website at
www.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov.
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Biden Shuts Down Wilmington Drug Haven

Wilmington, DE – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that for the first time in the City of
Wilmington, a property has been shut down under Delaware’s Nuisance Abatement Act. At a hearing
today in Superior Court a residential property at 1014 Rodman Road in Wilmington’s Canby Park
neighborhood was declared the site of drug and vice crime and was ordered shuttered immediately by
court order. In addition, the property’s owner, William Murphy, is required to vacate the premises.
“Today we took action to make Wilmington safer,” said Attorney General Joseph R. Biden, III.
“We’re pleased that the Judge imposed the remedy we sought which will result in shutting the property
down and requiring the owner to vacate the premises. The Delaware Department of Justice will
continue to work to improve the quality of life by shutting down nuisance properties like the one we
closed down today.”
The Department of Justice alleges that the property, located adjacent to the Joseph H. Douglass School,
has been the sight of constant drug traffic, prostitution activity, and that weapons have often been
found on the premises. At one point, neighborhood residents were forced to evacuate after a live
grenade was discovered in the row house. Following today’s Superior Court proceeding, Judge Peggy
Ableman agreed with the Department of Justice that the property presented an immediate threat to the
public health, safety and welfare and ordered that it be shut down until a permanent hearing is held.
In August, 2007 Attorney General Biden launched a statewide effort to combat crime in Delaware
under the state’s newly enhanced Drug Nuisance and Social Vices Abatement Act. Under the
Nuisance Abatement Act, enforcement actions can take a variety of forms, including closure of a
property. Today’s ruling marks the third time that the Department of Justice has secured the closure of
a property by court order using the Nuisance Abatement Act.
The Delaware Department of Justice identifies nuisance properties up and down Delaware through its
own investigations and cooperation with state and local police agencies, local authorities, civic
associations, and neighborhood residents. Since August, 2007, the Department has issued more
than 30 written notices to property owners in all three counties. These notices state that a nuisance
exists on the property and give owners the choice of voluntarily cooperating to clean up the illegal
activity, or defending themselves in court and being forced to clean up the crime by court order.
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