Fair 59°
Police & Fire
Bergen County Police Chiefs' BBQ For Vets Deemed Huge Success Bergen County Police Chiefs' BBQ For Vets Deemed Huge Success
Bergen County Police Chiefs' BBQ For Vets Deemed Huge Success Active and retired police chiefs from Bergen County brought more than barbecue to the Paramus Veterans Home. The Bergen County Police Chiefs Association Foundation also donated a large fish tank that was set up in one of the day rooms. Active, retired and associate/affiliated chiefs at Thursday's event included the foundation chairman, retired Emerson police chief Donald Rossi. "I must say it was very well received," said Old Tappan Police Chief Thomas M. Shine, the president of the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association. The day went so well, in fact, that the association intends to mak…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
Poet, Philosopher Jacqueline Winter Thomas Of Emerson Dies, 28 Poet, Philosopher Jacqueline Winter Thomas Of Emerson Dies, 28
Poet, Philosopher Jacqueline Winter Thomas Of Emerson Dies, 28 Jacqueline Winter Thomas of Emerson died on April 18, having recently been accepted as an English fellow to Brandeis University’s PhD program. She was 28 years old. Jacqueline earned a Bachelors degree in literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey and a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, her obituary says. She was also a poetry reader at The Adroit Journal and a contributing editor at Eratio Poetry Journal. Jacqueline was remembered in her obituary as "a poet, a philosopher, a lover of trees, and delighted in snowfall, …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Park Ridge Father, Upper Saddle River Son Admit Conning Elderly Investors Out Of Millions Park Ridge Father, Upper Saddle River Son Admit Conning Elderly Investors Out Of Millions
Park Ridge Father, Upper Saddle River Son Admit Conning Elderly Investors Out Of Millions A Bergen County father and son admitted they conned mostly elderly investors out of $3 million – after getting caught earlier scamming the very same people and others out of $5.5 million. George Bussanich Sr. and his son “ruthlessly stole the life savings of elderly investors to bankroll their own expensive homes, high-end cars, and luxury dining and travel,” state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. George Bussanich Jr., for example, bought a house in Upper Saddle River worth nearly $1 million. “What makes this case even more egregious is that they defrauded many of the same elderly r…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Sleeping Emerson Man Ejected From Bed In Wild Chain-Reaction Crash Sleeping Emerson Man Ejected From Bed In Wild Chain-Reaction Crash
Sleeping Emerson Man Ejected From Bed In Wild Chain-Reaction Crash A sleeping Emerson man was ejected from his bed when a speeding SUV with a 1-year-old boy in the back seat slammed through a dead-end guardrail and hit a parked sedan on the other side so hard that it careened into his house. The 2018 Honda was headed south on Sullivan Street in Westwood around 9:30 a.m. Saturday when it crashed through the guardrail at Emerson/Westwood border, Emerson Police Capt. Michael McDermott said. After sideswiping a parked van, the SUV kept going for another block, where it smashed into a sedan -- sending it careening across the street and into a house at the corne…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Discarded Cigarette Ignited Fire That Ravaged River Vale Home, Responders Say Discarded Cigarette Ignited Fire That Ravaged River Vale Home, Responders Say
Discarded Cigarette Ignited Fire That Ravaged River Vale Home, Responders Say UPDATE: A smoldering cigarette discarded in a planter ignited a fire that blew through the roof of a River Vale home last week, authorities said. A resident of the Pascack Avenue home "was smoking a cigarette outside hours earlier," a law enforcement contact with direct knowledge of the incident told Daily Voice. "She put it out in a planter and it smoldered for hours until it ignited." Two dogs were rescued from the 2½-story home near the Harrington Park border after the fire broke out the night of Feb. 13, authorities said. No one else was inside, they said. Responders included firefigh…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
PHOTOS: Fire Ravages River Vale Home PHOTOS: Fire Ravages River Vale Home
Photos: Fire Ravages River Vale Home Bergen County arson investigators were called to the scene of a fire that blew through the roof of a River Vale home Wednesday night. “Thankfully the family and their pets all appear to be safe,” state Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi said. Two dogs were rescued from the 2½-story Pascack Avenue home -- near the Harrington Park border – when the fire broke out, responders said. No one else was inside, they said. Responders included firefighters from Emerson, Hillsdale, Old Tappan, Park Ridge, Teaneck, Washington Township, Westwood and an ambulance from Old Tappan. River Vale fireCOURTESY: …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
POLICE: Drugged Bergen County DPW Driver Hit 10 Cars, Damaged Garage In Ridgewood POLICE: Drugged Bergen County DPW Driver Hit 10 Cars, Damaged Garage In Ridgewood
Police: Drugged Bergen County DPW Driver Hit 10 Cars, Damaged Garage In Ridgewood UPDATE: A 22-year-old Bergen County Parks Department driver from Emerson who authorities said was high when he hit 10 vehicles with a county truck while trying to flee a crash in an underground Ridgewood parking garage told police that he panicked. https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/ridgewood/police-fire/ridgewood-pd-i-panicked-says-drugged-county-parks-driver-who-hit-10-cars-damaged-garage/747676/ ****** ORIGINAL STORY: A 22-year-old Bergen County Parks Department driver from Emerson severely damaged an underground Ridgewood parking garage, hit several cars in it and then more on the stre…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Emerson PD: Officer Nabs iPhone Thief Who Signed For Package, ICE Issues Detainer Emerson PD: Officer Nabs iPhone Thief Who Signed For Package, ICE Issues Detainer
Emerson PD: Officer Nabs iPhone Thief Who Signed For Package, ICE Issues Detainer A package thief took a different approach when he used an Emerson woman's address to order two iPhones, then waited and signed for the delivery outside her house, authorities said. Responding quickly to a call from the Jordan Road resident, Officer Glenn Howard spotted and pulled over the thief's car -- bearing Ohio license plates -- on Forest Road, Capt. Michael McDermott said Tuesday. Howard "saw the shipping label torn off a package and two iPhones inside with a packing invoice addressed to the Emerson resident on Jordan Road," McDermott said. He took the driver, 31-year-old Dominican R…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Emerson Man Charged With Assault By Auto After Wife Is Injured By Jeep UPDATE: Emerson Man Charged With Assault By Auto After Wife Is Injured By Jeep
Update: Emerson Man Charged With Assault By Auto After Wife Is Injured By Jeep An Emerson man was charged with assault by auto after injuring his wife with his Jeep Monday afternoon, authorities said. The 43-year-old victim was hospitalized with facial injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, authorities said. Craig J. Arnoldi, 40, meanwhile, was booked and brought late Monday to the Bergen County Jail, Police Chief Michael Mazzeo confirmed. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigations Unit and borough police investigated.  The Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence, including Arnoldi's black …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Unlocked Vehicles Continue To Be Burglarized Or Stolen In Pascack Valley Unlocked Vehicles Continue To Be Burglarized Or Stolen In Pascack Valley
Unlocked Vehicles Continue To Be Burglarized Or Stolen In Pascack Valley Car burglaries and thefts continued to increase at a dizzying rate in Pascack Valley over the weekend. Several cars were ransacked on Ackerman Avenue, Repetti Street and Dogwood Road in Westwood, authorities said. Meanwhile, a 2018 Dodge Durango with Rhode Island license plates was stolen out of Emerson and late tracked on GPS to Newark. The Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence. Meanwhile, police once again urged motorists to lock their cars and take their key fobs – and either remove all valuables or hide them. No windows are broken or locks jimmi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Man, 20, Charged In Emerson Graffiti Spree, Symbol Not Anti-Semitic Man, 20, Charged In Emerson Graffiti Spree, Symbol Not Anti-Semitic
Man, 20, Charged In Emerson Graffiti Spree, Symbol Not Anti-Semitic A local man who'd marked two Emerson schools and other areas in town with graffiti that was mistakenly believed to be anti-Semitic was about to do it again when borough police grabbed him Wednesday night, authorities confirmed. Brendan Rooney, 20, "was doing the same thing that he saw a [hip-hop] group he found on social media doing," Lt. Michael McDermott said. "There was no evidence at all of this being a bias crime." Rooney was mimicking a symbol used by the Brooklyn band Pro-Era "that can be mistaken for a swastika," his friend, Ian Maltzan, told Daily Voice. "It means inner peace." Th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Emerson PD: Vandal Charged In Graffiti Spree Was About To Do It Again, Symbol Not Anti-Semitic Emerson PD: Vandal Charged In Graffiti Spree Was About To Do It Again, Symbol Not Anti-Semitic
Emerson PD: Vandal Charged In Graffiti Spree Was About To Do It Again, Symbol Not Anti-Semitic A local man who'd marked two Emerson schools and other areas in town with graffiti that was mistakenly believed to be anti-Semitic was about to do it again when borough police grabbed him Wednesday night, authorities confirmed. Brendan Rooney, 20, "was doing the same thing that he saw a [hip-hop] group he found on social media doing," Lt. Michael McDermott said. "There was no evidence at all of this being a bias crime." Rooney was mimicking a symbol used by the Brooklyn band Pro-Era "that can be mistaken for a swastika," his friend, Ian Maltzan, told Daily Voice. "It means inner peace.…

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by Jerry DeMarco