The former marketing director of a New Jersey hospital who was arrested last year after police found more than three dozen guns hidden inside an unlocked closet at the hospital has entered a pretrial diversion program, according to the Hudson County prosecutor's office.
Police found a cache of firearms July 18, 2022, while doing a sweep of Secaucus-based Hudson Regional Hospital in response to a bomb threat, which turned out to be a hoax. Reuven Alonalayoff, then the hospital's marketing director, was arrested Aug. 7, 2022, and charged with possession of an assault firearm and two counts of possession of a high-capacity magazine.
"After reviewing the charges filed by the Secaucus Police Department regarding this matter, the state determined the weapon did not meet the statutory definition of an assault rifle," the Hudson County prosecutor's office told Becker's in an Aug. 16 statement. "Given the facts of the case, the defendant was accepted into the pretrial intervention program for a period of one year."
The New Jersey Department of Health in November fined Hudson Regional Hospital $63,000 for violating state licensing standards by failing to report the bomb threat and discovery of the gun cache. The hospital was also cited for failing to "maintain a violence prevention plan and implement policies and procedures to maintain a safe hospital environment."