Wayne Man Indicted In Fatal Paterson Crash

PATERSON, NJ — A Wayne man has been indicted on multiple crimes relating to an August 2020 crash that left a 58-year-old Paterson man dead, the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office announced.

A grand jury returned the indictment on Monday against Asante Cugliari, 23, of Wayne. He was indicted on two counts of second degree death by auto, and one count of third degree strict liability vehicular homicide.

The indictment relates back to an Aug. 9, 2020, crash at the intersection of Ninth Avenue and East 26th Street in Paterson. Police responded to the area to find Gustavo Marte, 58, of Paterson, dead at the scene, the Prosecutor's Office said at the time.

The death by auto charge is a second degree offense carrying a sentence of five to 10 years.
That offense is subject to New Jersey's No Early Release Act, which requires a person convicted of a first or second degree "violent" offense to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before they become eligible for parole.

Defined by the state, a violent crime is any crime in which the defendant causes death, serious bodily injury or threatens the "immediate use of a deadly weapon," according to the language of the act.

The sentencing exposure on the vehicular homicide charge is three to five years.

Cugliari was also involved in a stabbing this April, and was charged with weapons possession after he walked into a local emergency room with multiple stab wounds to his leg, face and abdomen which required surgery to repair. Read more: Wayne Stabbing Leads To Weapons Possession Charges: Police

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