Crime & Safety

Hearing Postponed for Man Accused in Verona Resident's Death

Joseph Rossi of Verona was killed year ago Sunday at Floyd Avenue business.

Jose Luis Rivera, the Plainfield man accused in the February 2012 murder of Verona resident Joseph Rossi at his Bloomfield arcade business one year ago, had a court conference postponed Monday, Feb. 25, according to a NorthJersey.com report Tuesday.

Essex County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Kathy Carter said Rivera, who is not expected to be in attendance at the rescheduled March 25 hearing, has already been indicted by an Essex County grand jury.

Rossi, 58, was found shot to death on Feb. 24, 2012 at his Floyd Avenue business, an arcade company called Phoenix Amusements. 

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Agents from the FBI and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Task Force jointly conducted the homicide investigation.

At the time of his arrest, several New York newspapers reported mob informant Nicholas “Nicky Skins” Stefanelli, 69, carried out Rossi’s murder as an act of retaliation. The reports said Stefanelli allegedly shot Rossi two days before taking his own life on Feb. 26, 2012 at the Renaissance Meadowlands Hotel in Rutherford. 

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