A Rahway police officer's widow got an early Christmas present Tuesday - a check from the PBA that will help save her house.

Officer Robert Bernoskie was killed in the line of duty in 1958. Nearly 41 years went by, before police arrested Robert Zarinsky in 1999 for Bernoskie?s murder. However, in 2001, Zarinsky was acquitted of murder.

Two years after the acquittal, Bernoskie's wife, Betty, collected $150,000 from a civil jury in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Zarinsky. Betty used the money for home repairs and on the six children she raised alone.

This past October, the verdict was reversed and Betty was ordered to pay Zarinsky back. The widow feared she would have to sell her only asset, the home she bought with her husband in 1951.

The state PBA made sure Betty didn't have to lose her house. The group cut her a check for more than $50,000 to help the widow pay back her husband's accused killer. With the help of other donations through the Bernoskie Justice Fund, Betty is now able to keep her home.

Related Information:StatePBA helps officer's widow keep her home