Community Corner

Baker Makes First Court Appearance

Cranford Corner owner will come to Union County Courthouse for a second appearance on June 23.

Peter Baker, 55, entered the Union County Court at 10 a.m. for his first appearance session May 2. Not flanked by an attorney,  presiding Judge Joan Gross said he had a right to remain silent.

She offered the owner of Cranford Corner the service of a public defendant, and he replied saying that he was working on getting a private one. Baker’s second court appearance is on June 23 at 8:30 a.m. with Judge John Triarsi.

Baker, the owner of , was arrested on after Cranford Police received six complaints from customers alleging that he did not give them the varsity jackets they ordered in the fall of 2010 and kept their money, totaling $4,800. Some customers also alleged that they asked Baker for a refund and he gave them a check that bounced at the bank.

Find out what's happening in Cranfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Those weren't the only charges on Baker. He also had a warrant for his arrest out of four municipalities – Cranford, Totowa, Elizabeth and Harding Township – for not showing up to scheduled court appearances. 

Totowa Municipal Court Administrator Georgeann Gosnell said that back in September of 2002, Baker wrote a check for $418.74 at a Home Depot to buy unspecificed items. The check bounced. He didn't show up for his court date, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Find out what's happening in Cranfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The other three municipalities cited several motor vehicle violations with court dates when Baker again didn't show up to court – resulting in a warrant out for his arrest.

In Elizabeth, it was one traffic ticket in 1999 issued to Baker for disregard of a stop sign. In 2003, Baker received another ticket for driving on a suspended license and no insurance, according to Elizabeth Municipal Court employees. 

The situation in Harding Township was similar – Baker was pulled over for speeding and also received summons for a suspended license in 2001, Frank Ciampi said, administrator to the Joint Municipal Court of Madison. Baker then received a summons in Cranford for driving with a suspended license in 2005, said Court Administrator Lorraine Powell. 

Baker paid the $7,500 bail to get out of Union County Jail the same day he was arrested. As a "walk in," Baker entered the courtroom through the same set of double doors as the lawyers and members of the public instead of sitting in the glass case adjacent to the judge.

"Justice is being served," customer Carol Iaizzzi said when she heard of Baker's arrest in a , adding that she received a bad refund check and still has not received money back from Baker.

Abbe Fried, another customer who never received a varsity jacket or a refund from Baker, said she was sorry that Baker was now in this position, but "it was not the right thing to do, to take people's money and not deliver a product."

She added that although she didn't get a refund, Baker sent her son's varsity letter back in the mail with a note attached that read, "sorry for the inconvenience."

 Those who have worked with Baker in the past, however  said they never saw him as any more than a nice person and never viewed his work as problematic.

As a real estate broker in Cranford with Century 21 Supreme Realty, Baker served as the Vice President of the Cranford Chamber of Commerce from March 2010 until the fall of that year when he resigned from the three-year position. The reasons why he resigned are not known, said Robert Hoeffler, the Chamber of Commerce President. 

At the Chamber Hoeffler said he saw nothing but good things from Baker, adding that a person does not get up to the vice president position without putting valuable time into the organization and helping out at events.

"He was a great worker, a hard worker," Hoeffler said. "He was very active and always available."

Former employer Eugene Wisniewski at Century 21 Supreme Realty said Baker worked as an independent contractor from 2007 to the fall of 2010, adding that there were never any problems associated with his performance.

"There was nothing negative that I could say, no one ever put in a complaint about him," he said.

Patrick Sullivan contributed to this article.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here